Statement of Solidarity: Progressive Jewish Alliance

"Is not this the fast I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of tyranny,
to set the oppressed free and shatter all bondage?" (Is. 58:6)

The Progressive Jewish Alliance stands in solidarity with the brave Columbia students who truly understand the message of the prophet Isaiah, that a fast is not merely the abstention of food (or drink). Rather, it is a sympathetic response, an act of compassion, of feeling with, a radical intuition that shatters interpersonal boundaries. To fast is to refuse sustenance in a time when so many are hungering for dialogue, for fair treatment, for justice.

The PJA supports a quest for a curriculum that will educate the student body about the world in which we live, with proper attention paid to all cultures and ethnicities represented in this "global university." As members of a people historically diasporic for 2,500 years, we are appalled at the university's callous plan of expansion that will cause 5,000 people to be displaced and will utterly ruin a rich community. Lastly, as victims of recent bias incidents, the Progressive Jewish Alliance speaks out with great fervor against the appalling slew of expressions of hate and support the strikers' attempt to force the university's administration to do its duty and take care of its student body.

Our prayers are with the strikers and all their supporters, wishing them a speedy resolution and good health. Thank you all.

~PJA