Movement Updates
We, the teen leadership of the Aleph Zadik Aleph and the B’nai B’rith Girls, on behalf of BBYO worldwide, stand in solidarity with the Black community, and all communities of color. We affirm our support through our own expressions of grief, anger, and protest as we join so many in the United States and around the world who are outraged and seek transformative change. Dismantling systemic racism embedded within our society will require disciplined focus and ongoing work—and our Movement provides us with a platform to enact the changes we want to see. First, we will listen and learn. We will deepen our understanding of racial injustice so that we can become even better allies. We will actively fight racism and prejudice as we work toward shaping a world that ensures compassion and justice for all.
Utilize the summer to educate ourselves, our peers, our volunteers, and our professionals about racial injustice through direct engagement with a diverse group of leaders and educators so that we can build the necessary relationships that lead to action.
Leverage our Shabbat and Jewish ritual moments to immerse ourselves in the lessons of social movements while highlighting the unique capacity faith leaders have to be agents of change.
Ensure our forthcoming COVID-19 community service efforts are aligned with and inclusive of communities of color.
Prioritize voter education, voting rights, and equal access to voting within voter registration efforts while working to dramatically increase the youth vote in upcoming elections.
We know this list is just a start—a jumping-off point from which we must all embark on a crucial journey to combat racism. While this moment’s conversation has been sparked by recent events, including the senseless and tragic murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Pamela Turner, and many more, this crisis has endured far too long. We pledge to act continuously and consistently for as long as necessary. Our Jewish tradition empowers us to repair the world and shape the future to be more equitable, kinder, and just.
As always, we stand up for morality and human rights. We stand with victims of prejudice. We stand against systems that are broken and unfair. We call upon all Jewish teens to join us in standing with the Black community and all people of color.
As expressed in our Movement's core values, BBYO welcomes Jewish teens of all backgrounds, denominational affiliation, gender, race, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status, including those with a range of intellectual, emotional, and physical abilities.
All views expressed on content written for The Shofar represent the opinions and thoughts of the individual authors. The author biography represents the author at the time in which they were in BBYO.
