May 15, 2022

Greater Miami Jewish Federation, JCRC and RAGM Horrified and Sickened by Racially Motivated Mass Shooting in Buffalo

The Greater Miami Jewish Federation, its Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) and the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami (RAGM) are horrified and grief-stricken by the racially motivated mass shooting at a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, NY yesterday, murdering 10 people and wounding three others. We are sickened by the baseless animosity that motivated this senseless violence. We express our solidarity with and our condolences to the victims’ families, the city of Buffalo and our Black friends and neighbors here in Miami-Dade County.

The shooter, who livestreamed his actions on social media and circulated a manifesto espousing violently racist and antisemitic sentiments online shortly before the attack, intended to start a race war that “will save the Western world.” His language and actions paralleled several other recent white supremacists who perpetrated hate and mass violence targeting a variety of diverse communities, including:

• The 2019 mass shooting in a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, which was targeted because of its location in a largely Hispanic neighborhood;
• The 2019 mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, which the attacker livestreamed on social media;
• The gunman espoused the “Great Replacement” Theory, which gained notoriety in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 when far right protestors chanted “Jews will not replace us.” The theory alleges that nonwhite immigrants are replacing and will eventually lead to the extinction of the white race in the United States, and that the Jewish people are responsible for it.

“This is a tragic example of how hateful extremists who target one group today, will target another tomorrow,” said Moj Khaghan Danial, JCRC Chair. “In order to end such abhorrent racist and antisemitic violence, we all must stand together.”

May the victims’ memories forever be a blessing.