Issued October 28, 2018
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Service Employees International President Mary Kay Henry released the following statement on this weekend’s shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue:
“Saturday’s deadly attack on Jewish people as they gathered in their sacred space was heinous and reprehensible. Hatred, anti-semitism and attacks on those who help refugees find a better life have no place anywhere in America. My heart is heavy with sorrow for the victims and their families.
“Unfortunately this kind of hateful and bigoted mindset is all too common in our nation. In the past week alone a Black church in Kentucky was targeted and the nation watched as a dozen pipe bombs were mailed to public figures. Too many SEIU members live with the ongoing threat of gun violence in their communities. At the root of all of these is the effort by certain politicians to divide us by religion, ethnicity, gender, the color of our skin or where we were born by stoking anti-semitism, racism and anti-immigrant fervor.
“My thoughts today are with SEIU members and their families and communities in the Pittsburgh area—the members at the Central Blood Bank working hard to support the flood of Pittsburghers who have come forward to donate blood, the brave first responders, and the nurses and other healthcare workers who are caring for the wounded victims and the alleged shooter with tremendous professionalism.
“SEIU’s two million members stand in love and solidarity with the Tree of Life’s members and the broader Jewish community. On Nov. 6 we will join millions more by standing up and making it crystal clear that there is no place in America for those who use hatred, racism and anti-semitism to divide us.”
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