Today, Congressman Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D. (NY-16) held a roundtable “Healing Breakfast: Fighting Antisemitism and Hate”, on fighting hate and antisemitism in our New York community and across the country. It was attended by over 60 members of the community and held in the White Plains district office.
He released the following statement in response:
“I am incredibly grateful to be in community with so many thoughtful people today for the first of many upcoming conversations on the work we can do together to fight against hatred, bigotry, and antisemitism. It was an honor to gather a group of almost entirely Jewish constituents during this time of global and local crisis, as hate and bigotry rise to levels we’ve never wanted to imagine. Despite the fear and trauma felt in our community, it was inspiring that over 60 constituents showed up on such short notice. Having these community conversations is so important to us, and we want to hear from everyone. They are also difficult to do…showing up to listen and learn knowing that not everyone will agree with you is the hard work of building our democracy. This is exactly what our district did today. It is also how peace begins with us: civil and rigorous dialogue face-to-face. I hope we can continue to bring that to future community conversations as we fight antisemitism and hate in this district and beyond.
It was inspiring to engage with our neighbors who began the day protesting. We engaged and most of them joined our roundtable. Unfortunately, we did need to change locations due to an initial encounter with an overly aggressive protester. But it was heartwarming to see them enter the conversation even with their frustrations and concerns. Constituents continue to inspire me and it was an honor to listen to everyone who attended.
Like I said, this is the first of many conversations that I plan to have so we can do the work on the ground to build our community up, fight against hatred and bigotry in all of its forms, and center our shared humanity. My job in Congress and why I was elected is to lead with compassion and provide moral leadership to this district, and that’s exactly what I’m going to continue to do.”
