LA Jews for Black Lives Demand a People's Budget

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LA Jews for Black Lives Demand a People's Budget

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Members of the City Council

The murders of George Floyd in Minnesota, Rommel Mendoza in North Hollywood and more than 600 others throughout Los Angeles County in the past decade are grounded in a 400-year legacy of white supremacy in America. We call on our Jewish community and allies to honor our common humanity - B'Tzelem Elohim - and affirm that Black Lives Matter! Please join us in demanding that City of Los Angeles leadership commits to a People's Budget, demands accountability for police misconduct, calls off the National Guard, keeps COVID-19 testing sites open, and stands up for Black lives.

Petition by

LA Jews for Black Lives

Los Angeles, California

To: Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Members of the City Council
From: [Your Name]

To Mayor Garcetti and the Members of the City Council:

We are Jews in solidarity with both our Black Jewish community members and all Black residents of Los Angeles. We affirm that Black Lives Matter, and demand that the city’s actions reflect this. We are therefore strongly against the proposed city budget, which would allocate over half its general funds to a police force that terrorizes Black communities as well as the unhoused, undocumented, and other marginalized communities. We support the demands of Black Lives Matter to #DefundthePolice.

In the same week that police officers in Minneapolis killed George Floyd, at least two uniformed LAPD officers shot and killed Rommel Mendoza in front of his home in North Hollywood. Three weeks before that, an LAPD officer, who had previously shot three people in three separate incidents, brutally beat a Boyle Heights man as he arrested him. The list goes on and on. Police in Los Angeles County have murdered 600+ people in the last decade.

We call on you to:

⎔call off the National Guard.

⎔commit to keeping all testing sites for COVID-19 -- a deadly virus that disproportionately affects Black people and people of color -- open for the duration of the pandemic.

⎔commit to a People’s Budget that affirms life, not by spending 54% of the city's general funds on the police as proposed, but by investing in housing, good jobs, healthy food, the environment, youth services, public transportation, parks and libraries at the June 8th and consecutive budget meetings.

⎔demand accountability in situations of police misconduct.

⎔stand up for Black lives, vocally and unconditionally.

As Jews, we work to build a world that honors our common humanity, as our Torah recounts that all people are created B'Tzelem Elohim - in the image of God. The principle of Pikuach Nefesh teaches us that the preservation of life must be our highest priority. And we learn in the Mishnah that anyone who destroys a single life has destroyed the entire world. The murders by police officers continue to destroy the holiness and sanctity of our world.

We urge you to uphold the values that our diverse communities share and pursue justice for all Angelenos. Approve the People’s Budget. Call off the Guard. Support Black lives.

Sincerely,