Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, Tree of Life issue statement condemning George Floyd killing

Leaders with Tree of Life-Or L’Simcha, a Jewish congregation that suffered its own hate-fueled trauma in 2018, condemned the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and offered solidarity and support in the fight against hatred.

“Racism in every form must be stopped,” they wrote in a statement.

A gunman opened fire on the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018, killing 11 worshippers among three congregations in the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history.

The statement pointed to the Declaration of Independence and its idea that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.”

If those words are to mean anything, they wrote, “we must move beyond them being a dream for some and make them a reality for all people.”

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers called the death of Floyd — ruled a homicide Monday, a week after a white officer kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes — “yet another senseless death” brought about by the “H-word.”

Myers has said that he has eliminated the word “hate” from his vocabulary and his mind, comparing it to a four-letter expletive.

“Together we must work ever hard to obliterate racism, starting with eliminating ‘H’ in our lives,” he said.

He pointed to a line from Martin Luther King Jr.: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

Myers said everyone has the capacity to love more in these times.

“If we all did just one thing out of love to eliminate racism, that would be a great start,” he said.