Statement of AFT President Randi Weingarten on Anti-Religious Violence in New York and Texas

NEW YORK—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement after reports of a string of attacks on Hassidic and Orthodox Jews, and a shooting at a church in Texas:

“The freedom to practice our religion—any religion—is one of our most sacred. It is what separates us from the darkest corners of the world and makes this country a place of hope and sanctuary. I condemn these horrible acts of violence. We must refuse to live in a world where any human being can be attacked in their own home or their own community; and we must do what we can as a larger community to end these senseless acts of hatred, racism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, homophobia, Islamophobia and sexism. Whether it’s an attack on Jews in Monsey, N.Y., or on Christians in White Settlement, Texas, we must not allow this kind of hate to be normalized, and our union will do its part to be an upstander to this evil.”