In Solidarity: The Bridge Initiative’s Statement on Anti-Semitic Incidents at Georgetown

We are deeply disturbed by recent anti-Semitic incidents on our campus, including the anti-Semitic and misogynistic bias incident that took place on September 20th, the eve of Rosh Hashanah and the start of the Jewish High Holy Days. The timing of this act is particularly despicable because it indicates that its purpose was to intimidate members of our Jewish community on an occasion of great spiritual importance.

The severity of this act should not be understated: Recent history shows us that such hateful discourse manifests itself in fear, prejudice, persecution, and violence, and threatens the fabric of all of our communities. When individuals feel threatened on the basis of their race, religion, gender, or other identities, we lose our ability to function as a safe, open learning environment for all of our students, faculty and staff.  As a university community seeking to promote understanding and equality among its members, it is our responsibility to challenge ideas when they are harmful.

We condemn these hateful acts in the strongest terms and reaffirm our commitment to speak out against hatred, racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, and Islamophobia. We will challenge the discourses that enable these harmful prejudices. Today and every day, we support our Jewish community and will continue to show our solidarity against bigotry and intolerance in every way we can.