Log Cabin California Chair Responds to Synagogue Attack in Poway
Log Cabin California Chairman Matthew Craffey respondeds to the violent attack on the Chabad Synagogue in Poway, California in his piece in The Washington Blade this week...
Last Saturday morning, on the last day of Passover, anti-Semitic violence hit close to home when an armed, 19-year-old gunman opened fire at the Chabad Synagogue in Poway, Calif. Adding further pain to this tragedy is that fact that one of the injured, Noya Dohan, had moved with her family to San Diego from the city of Sderot in Southern Israel in search of safety.
This news affected me personally, as I had just visited Southern Israel through an Israel mission hosted by A Wider Bridge, an organization that works to expand LGBTQ inclusion in Israel. Israel is a fascinating and beautiful country with so much history, but what stayed with me the most was our time spent near Sderot and the border. While there, we met with LGBTQ families, communities, and activists, many of whom live in self-sustainable communities called a kibbutz. They also unfortunately live under constant fear of rockets being fired from Gaza and landing in their yard, their school, or their home. It was startling to see so many bomb shelters every few feet.
As a gay man, my community has also been affected by violence...