Today JFREJ stood with the New York City Anti-Violence Project, the Asian American Federation, the Chinese-American Planning Council, MCN, and other organizations fight against identity-based violence and working to protect Asian communities. Together we're advocating for effective community-based solutions to ending hate violence that do not rely on the NYPD.

Sign up below or at jfrej.org/stophate and we'll let you know how to take action to restore the Hate Violence Prevention Initiative.

Two years ago, NYC Against Hate, a coalition of grassroots organizations led by Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ) and the New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP), and representing diverse communities from across New York City came together and won funding for the Hate Violence Prevention Initiative.

Last year that funding was unfortunately cut by the City Council. Today, in response to the tragic crisis of violence directed at our Asian community members and neighbors, we are demanding that funding be restored and expanded to meet the needs of all communities facing identity-based violence.

Our communities need approaches that prevent violence through education and community-building, interrupt violence through community-based upstander intervention trainings and rapid response at the local level, and repair damage through restorative justice, counseling, and peer-support. The NYC Against Hate coalition that created the Hate Violence Prevention Initiative believes that our communities should be at the center of generating these solutions, and that an agenda that relies on increased policing and escalating hate crimes prosecutions will not heal our communities and will not stop hate violence in New York City.

In addition to fully funding all of the organizations that make up the NYC Against Hate coalition through HVPI, we call on the council to expand funding for HVPI to robustly resource our Asian partners who are on the front lines, fighting for their communities in this crisis. We also call on the council to fully fund the Asian American Federation’s Community Safety to Combat Anti-Asian Violence Initiative, which would offer critical services to Asian communities reeling from Identity-based violence.

JFREJ’s membership — including Asian Jews and other Jewish People of Color — understands the pain and fear of white supremacy and identity-based violence.

That’s why our members created #JewsForAsians this week and hundreds of us have already signed up to support and protect our neighbors. This ethos is exactly why NYC Against Hate and HVPI were created in the first place: Asians, Muslims, and so many others have always shown up for Jews after incidents of antisemitic violence. We know that when we’re in crisis, our friends throughout New York’s diverse communities have our backs. Together, we keep us safe.

NYC Against Hate includes: The Audre Lorde Project, The Arab American Association of New York, Brooklyn Movement Center, The Center for Anti-Violence Education, Desis Rising Up & Moving, Make The Road New York, Jews For Racial & Economic Justice, and The New York City Anti-Violence Project, in partnership with the Asian American Federation.