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By now of many of you may have seen two Washington Post articles about DC Councilmember

Trayon White: this one on his visit to the Holocaust Museum and this one reporting that
Trayon directed $500 in constituent services funds to the Nation of Islam in January.

We have spent the day trying to understand all of this. We've had extensive conversations with
Trayon, his staff, Rabbi Batya Glazer and the Jewish Community Relations Council (who set up
the Holocaust Museum visit), other Jewish organizations, other Councilmembers, and local
rabbis.

We have spoken with several people who were present for the museum visit, including a Jewish
leader, who say the Post article isn't an accurate picture. They describe Trayon as sincere in his
desire to learn, and that the vast gaps in knowledge and understanding between Black and
Jewish communities became evident again and again during the tour. Councilmember White
closed his Council office to ensure that the entire staff would be present for the museum visit.
This in itself shows the depth of his seriousness. What was set up as a private and sensitive
opportunity for education and dialogue, seems to have been used by an uninvited reporter to
turn this into a 'gotcha' story.

Jews are a people who value questions and learning. We are disappointed that the reporter
chose to portray this Black leader and his staff in the most unflattering possible light possible- as
willfully ignorant, rather than in the middle of a learning process - thereby inflaming tensions at
a time when everyone involved was working toward understanding and bridge building. We
know from first-hand experience that doing this kind of learning can be humbling, awkward, and
hard, and how hurtful our lack of information can be to others.

It is our understanding that that the presence of a reporter trailing Councilmember White and
writing down his and staff's questions caused him to cut the visit short. This derailed a real
opportunity for learning, connection, trust building, and shared understanding - the things that
will bring our communities closer together. (We recommend reading our colleague and friend
Ed Lazere’s statement.)

We are also disappointed that Trayon left the tour early. And although we can sympathize with
his concerns about how he might be portrayed in the media, he should have informed the
group about why he was leaving.

As for the reported constituent fund donation to the Nation of Islam: if this is true, it is
unacceptable. Louis Farrakhan and NOI have a long history of anti-Semitic, anti-LGBTQ+,
misogynistic, and bigoted words and actions, which we condemn in the strongest terms. We
also encourage people to read Black and Jewish critics of NOI and Farrakhan.
We hope Trayon will request a return of the funds to ensure that the money goes to
supporting his constituents. No constituent funds should have been given to the NOI.

We had hoped to move toward connecting disconnected communities, education, dialogue, and
new, heartbreaking knowledge of our communities’ histories of trauma. We are disappointed
and angry that Councilmember White stepped away in the middle of one opportunity for
bridge building. And we are also disappointed and angry that some Jewish leaders are choosing
to see this set of events in the worst possible light rather than working through the new and
growing relationships that this process is meant to build. This bridge wasn’t going to be built in
one museum visit. Building relationships - especially across such different lived experience -
takes time.

One person already walked away at a painful time - let’s not walk away too.

We live together in a country that was and is, terrifyingly, dominated by white Christian
supremacy. America was built on slavery and allows police to murder Black people. That same
America slammed its doors in the faces of Jewish refugees and refused to halt the mass murder
in Nazi death camps. We need to figure out how to move forward together.We need to figure
out how to move forward together.

We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes.

It's been a long, hard day, but we’re grateful for the people who have helped us navigate this
very complicated turn of events. We understand that people may be angry and hurting - we are
too. Be in touch if you want to talk (though you won’t hear back until after Shabbat). And thank
you, as ever and always, for everything you do to bring our region closer to justice.

Wishing us all a little Shabbat rest and peace.

www.jufj.org

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