This statement was first drafted as a result of community conversations in the aftermath of events of anti-Semitic violence in Pittsburgh in the Fall of 2019 and revised in the summer of 2020 as we continue to increase our attention and awareness of racism and police violence against Black and Brown members of our community.
For Kehilat Sukkat Shalom, being an inclusive and welcoming community is a central value. We keep this in mind as we plan to greet guests, engage with potential and current members, and reach out to our larger community.
We believe that most people in the world are good. We also know that throughout history, and in our recent experience here in the United States, people have been the target of violent acts because of who they are –Jews (regardless of their skin color), Blacks (regardless of their religion), and so many others who are perceived to be different than those wanting to “other” and do harm.
Conversely, whether through action or inaction, we sometimes “miss the mark” and cause harm to others. We seek to be inclusive and welcoming to all, to be anti-racists, (recognizing that care for all marginalized people overlaps in anti-racism), and acknowledging that being anti-racist is on-going work.
We have both an individual and a collective responsibility to maximize our own safety and the safety of our guests, knowing that safety can never be guaranteed.
As we work together to promote safety, our priorities are as follows:
- Welcoming to those who visit our kehilah for the purpose of building community together
- Promoting non-discriminatory inclusion and reducing the impact of implicit bias
- Focusing on the positive, attending to the possibility of risk and people’s experiences of fear and anxiety as needed and in appropriate proportion to the good things that are happening
- Inviting collective responsibility for ensuring we continue to be welcoming, inclusive and safe,
- Providing community opportunities for related learning and action for our members with specific attention to topics related to racism
We continually work to establish policies/procedures and trainings through the lens of these priorities.