The Freedom From Religion Foundation joins the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and dozens of allied organizations in denouncing the recent antisemitic acts of violence in Washington, D.C., and Boulder, Colo.
Two heinous attacks — one at a Jewish museum in D.C. that tragically took the lives of a young couple, and another in Boulder that seriously injured 12 people supporting Israeli hostages — are stark reminders of the growing threat of antisemitic violence and other hate in the United States. The Boulder attack has been rightly charged as a hate crime, and both assaults are part of a disturbing national trend.
“As an organization committed to defending constitutional rights, FFRF is deeply disturbed by these acts of antisemitic terrorism,” says Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president. “True religious liberty demands freedom from fear. Hate rooted in religious or ethnic identity undermines our secular democracy and endangers us all.”
FFRF stands firmly for the rights of all individuals to gather, protest, worship or not worship and to live in peace — free from religious or ethnic violence. As the joint statement powerfully declares, “We also condemn the increase in hate and violence targeting the Arab American and Muslim communities. We fight for the safety of the LGBTQ-plus community as we celebrate Pride Month. And we reject growing anti-disability, misogynist, anti-Asian, anti-Black and anti-Latino bigotry.”
FFRF Governmental Affairs Director Mark Dann adds, “As a proud member of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, we stand with our allies against religiously motivated hate and violence. It has no place in our society.”
The joint statement also urges the U.S. Department of Justice to reinstate more than $30 million in hate crime prevention funding that was recently cut and to uphold its responsibility to protect vulnerable communities. FFRF adds its voice to this urgent call for federal action.
FFRF remains committed to opposing all forms of religious bigotry, discrimination and extremism. In the words of Leadership Conference founder Arnold Aronson, quoted in the joint statement: “The struggle for civil rights cannot be won by any one group acting on its own; it can only be achieved through a coalition of groups that share a common commitment to equal justice and equal opportunity for every American.”
We grieve the victims of these hateful attacks. And FFRF recommits itself to creating a more just, inclusive and secular nation for all.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
