Thread by @swordsjew

A packed interfaith memorial service today in #Charlottesville, with clergy from Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim and Baha’i traditions set to speak

“We cannot ask You to solve these problems for us, for these gifts are within us.”

a truly gorgeous rendition of “wade in the water,” in a place that has known troubled waters intimately

i don’t know why that uploaded sideways.

3 survivors were supposed to testify, but 2– who were companions of Heather Heyer that day— found themselves struggling too much with the anniversary of #A12 to speak.

Survivor Tanesha Hudson says “the movement sometimes leaves people of color behind,” but that #A12 has committed her to making the city a better place and to respect the work of elders in the movement. Describes 2017 as the “Summer of Hate.”

“The world’s attention is on #Charlottesville, and how we recover can be a model for how the world recovers.” -Tanesha Hudson

A moment of silence for the people who were hurt— physically and emotionally— that day.

“As we continue to say we want to make change, changing means voting the right way, against policies that hurt people of color.”

Rev. Jill Duffield giving a powerful sermon relating #A12 to the 2015 Mother Emanuel shooting — and how routine, banal & uniquitous “insidious and ever growing white supremacy” is in white Christianity.

“I had the privilege of being shocked... God forgive me because it took the weekend of Aug 11 & 12... to remove the scales from my eyes. Only then did I realize that the tragedy at Mother Emanuel was not an outlier... it was emblematic of my past and a bellwether of our future.”

“White supremacy does not just crouch in the doorway of our white congregations; too often it sits in our pews and preaches from our pulpits. But it’s not enough to confess. We must repent.” -Rev Jill Duffield

A very powerful sermon.

The 2 survivors were moved to & able to speak in the end. “We were there with Heather that day,” one woman says. “But it didn’t start on August 12 and it did not end on August 12... You literally have to love the hell out of people.”

“We’re hurting and I know you’re hurting too,” says #Charlottesville survivor.

Rabbi Tom Guthertz is speaking about the impact of August 12 on the Jewish community of Charlottesville. Discussing historic trauma of pogroms & genocide.

“We were raised to believe that America was a promised land... where organized antisemitism aided by the institutions of government & society would not occur.”

“Since August 12 we have had to have certain conversations with our children and others we had not had before, about why people hate Jews so much. ... For many on the far right, antisemitism is the glue that holds their white supremacist worldview together.”

Rabbi Guthertz astutely points out that the alt right has “copied and pasted classical antisemitism” into Great Replacement theory.

Rabbi Guthertz pointed out that HIAS, the Jewish immigrant aid org Pittsburgh shooter hated most, resettled his own father in America.

“We know that for every synagogue shooting, there have been dozens of attacks on African-American churches and communities. And we know that white supremacist violence is directed also against Muslims and, including in El Paso, Latinos.”

Commits to “fighting the racial injustice that others are working so hard to uphold.”

“We have learned that history does not always go forward, it goes backward too.” -Rabbi Tom Guthertz of Beth Israel synagogue in #Charlottesville

Gonna stop livetweeting now but, very powerful evening with a rapt & responsive crowd.

I should add that Rev. Brenda Brown-Grooms gave one of the most powerful speeches I’ve ever heard. She talked about the dying of democracy in this country w/Jer 9:21, “For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces...”

“We must recognize the spiritual bankruptcy of hate.” -Rev Brenda Brown-Grooms

“White people fear my people, Jews, immigrants because you think we’ll do the same thing to you that you’ve done to us. But if we haven’t done it yet because we have enough sense not to. Do you?” -Rev Brenda Brown-Grooms