American Jews will not soon forget the image of dozens of toddlers being led hand-in-hand by police officers from the North Valley Jewish Community Center in California after a horrific shooting rampage in that facility. That event, and the other anti-Semitic incidents that took place in summer 1999 in Sacramento and Chicago, will continue to motivate community leaders to reassess, and, where necessary, enhance security protocols. It is important that Jewish institutions take all prudent measures to ensure the safety of their facilities for the staff, volunteers, and public that use them. However, at the same time, it is imperative that the Jewish community resist the understandable urge to transform its institutions into "fortresses," thereby inhibiting their openness and accessibility to Jews and the broader population they serve.

Recent studies show that anti-Semitic attitudes have declined in America, although it is evident that an increasing proportion of the anti-Semitism that remains is increasingly violent and virulent. Moreover, the attacks that targeted Jews also targeted members of other minority groups, including blacks, Asians, and homosexuals. The outpouring of support for the Jewish community in the wake of these events, and from the Jewish community to other victims, reminds us of the need to work together in coalition to create and sustain an overwhelming national consensus against bias-motivated hatred.

No one law or programmatic initiative will eradicate the scourge of hate from American society. However, several important steps can be taken that will demonstrate the nation’s determination to combat hatred and stem gun-related violence. Therefore, the JCPA will continue to press for Congressional passage of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA), which would strengthen the federal government’s ability to investigate and prosecute hate crimes and expand federal hate crimes law to include acts motivated by the victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, or disability. The JCPA will also continue to support passage of appropriate hate crimes laws in the ten states that still do not have them, and strengthening of laws in those states whose hate crimes statutes could be more comprehensive. The JCPA also encourages greater compliance with the federal Hate Crimes Statistics Act, which mandates data collection regarding hate crimes, and with other federal and state laws intended to combat hate crimes. The JCPA also supports passage of the Violence Against Women Act of 2000 (VAWA), which has as its focal point the reauthorization of the first Violence Against Women Act. The Supreme Court recently struck down the civil remedy provision of the first VAWA law, much to the disappointment of the JCPA and other organizations that had urged the Corut to hold otherwise. However, the Court’s ruling does not affect the viability of VAWA as a whole, which contains a broad array of measures to combat violence against women. Finally, the JCPA supports passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would protect gays and lesbians from workplace discrimination.

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DISSENT

The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (UOJCA) abstains from this section’s discussion of the HCPA and ENDA. While we are opposed to discrimination against any individual, Jewish law prohibits homosexual activity, and we cannot join in a statement or initiative that could be interpreted to imply otherwise.

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