The international grassroots civil-rights movement #EndJewHatred released the following statement from Gerard Filitti, senior council at The Lawfare Project, after he attended a rally on Jan. 19 outside the Brooklyn Criminal Courthouse with New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov:
“When Jews are targeted with hate crimes, the attackers need to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Without consequences, there is no justice. Plea deals with minimal sentences don’t just embolden more attacks, they erase the collective experience of a community that has seen a massive increase in antisemitism. Leniency towards attackers traumatizes a community under siege. It silences our cry for justice, and it sends the message that Jews are not equal, because the people who violate our rights are not held to account for their actions. But we will not be silenced. Today, we gathered to demand justice for Blake Zavadsky, and we will continue demanding action to end Jew-hatred in our city, in our lifetime.”
Photos from today’s rally can be found here. Photo credit belongs to Christopher Leon Johnson.
