Contact: Sean Thibault or Deborah Goldberg
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San Diego, CA -- Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism released the following statement following todays tragic school shooting in Colorado. Rabbi Saperstein is currently at the Union for Reform Judaisms 72nd Biennial Convention in San Diego with nearly 5,000 Reform Jews from coast to coast. The RAC had just launched an interfaith effort to call members of Congress on December 13th as part of its Faiths Calling initiative to address gun violence when news of todays shooting broke. In the last year, Faiths Calling has generated more than 20,000 phone calls to Congress askingfor meaningful legislation to combat gun violence.
"Today's shooting is another tragic instance when guns have violently subverted the fabric of this community; our prayers are with the families of those affected. Enough is enough. We cannot stand idly by as these shootings continue. Our synagogues and rabbis, together with clergy and laypeople from other faith traditions, remain committed to keeping the pressure on elected officials.
This Shabbat, biennial attendees are joined by Mindy Finkelstein, a survivor of the shooting at the North Valley Jewish Community Center 14 years ago. Hearing her powerful experience and how she has since become a forceful advocate for gun violence prevention is a reminder to all of the vital importance of making our voices heard.
Today, Faiths Calling is again bringing together thousands of moral activists to speak clearly against gun violence, asking Congress to pass common sense measures like background checks. Tragically, the reality of this issue has been brought home again this afternoon as we learn about yet another shooting in a school in Colorado. One year ago, following the shooting in Newtown, Americans across the country said that we must never let this happen again. And yet, our leaders have been unable to take the steps to stop this plague on our communities: we can delay no longer.
We pause to acknowledge todays senseless loss, and our prayers are with the families of the victims. Our resolve to push our elected leaders toward action is unwavering -and strengthened by this tragic incident."
