JCPA CEO Amy Spitalnick’s Remarks at the Demand Diversity Emergency Roundtable

Jewish Council for Public Affairs CEO Amy Spitalnick delivered the following remarks (as prepared) at the Demand Diversity emergency roundtable convened today by the National Urban League, JCPA, and their fellow national civil rights partners:

JCPA is honored to be here today on behalf of the Jewish community, alongside so many of our key partners in the fight for democracy and civil rights.

Nothing that is happening right now is accidental — from the racist attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion; to draconian anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ+ executive orders; to the pardons of violent, bigoted extremists responsible for a direct attack on our democracy; to overt hate — including Nazi salutes from a senior member of the Trump administration, and emboldened white supremacists and other extremists marching on our streets and targeting Black, Jewish, Latino, and other communities.

This is all part of a broader effort to normalize bigotry, dehumanization, and extremism.

That means we must also recognize how a core tool of these extremists is to intentionally pit our communities against one another. To suggest that advancing the rights, inclusion, and safety of one community somehow comes at the expense of another’s. That there are only so many pieces of pie and not enough to go around for all of us.

In particular, I want to name how extreme voices in all directions have sought to exploit the Oct. 7 attacks (which were the deadliest day for the Jewish community since the Holocaust), the subsequent spike in antisemitism here in the U.S., and the very real pain felt by the Jewish community to try to advance an extremist agenda that pits Jews against others — suggesting that the only way to address antisemitism is to end diversity, equity, and inclusion and a variety of other efforts aimed at building a more inclusive democracy, or that Jews have no place in the movement for civil rights and social justice.

Make no mistake:

Advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion isn’t just important to the Jewish community because of our values. Although that is certainly true.

It’s not just important because of the deep diversity of the Jewish community, from Jews of Color to LGBTQ+ Jews, and so many others. Although that is also very true.

It’s important for all of those reasons.

But it’s also important because our safety as Jews is inextricably linked with inclusive, pluralistic democracy. With confronting systemic injustice. With ensuring that each and every community has a fair shot.

We know that it is not just possible — but necessary — to counter racism and broader bigotry and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion for the sake of all communities’ rights and safety — and to do so in a way that is truly inclusive of the Jewish community, our history, and our identities.

Because just as antisemitism — and the conspiracy theories that underpin it — are used to advance dehumanizing policies, hate, and violence targeting not just Jews but so many communities and our democracy itself — so too as our democratic norms and values are attacked and eroded does antisemitism flourish — and the safety of Jews and all communities is further threatened.

The only path forward is one in which we recognize that our safety and our futures are inextricably linked. That diversity and pluralism are our greatest strengths. That building strong, inclusive coalitions — where ALL of us can show up as our true selves, without having to check our identities at the door — is existential to all of our communities.

That is at the core of our work at the Jewish Council for Public Affairs as we mobilize the Jewish community and our partners to protect democracy and counter hate and bigotry at this critical moment — rooted in the recognition that Jewish safety is inextricably tied to democracy, just as inclusive multiracial democracy is inextricably tied to Jewish safety.

I’m particularly grateful to Marc and the National Urban League, as well as all of our co-conveners and partners here today, for bringing us together. This is just the beginning of the many fights ahead. And please know that the Jewish community will be there every step of the way because our values and our own safety demand it.