A large and growing group of Minnesota Jewish community partner organizations* is planning a Jewish community-wide program on gun safety and community security for March 13, 2022. The program is designed to attract a broad and diverse audience of people who are interested in having a thoughtful conversation about the connections between guns and our community’s security.

Given the discernable contemporary threats to Jewish safety and security, it is time to reconvene our community around our shared values and our shared commitment to our community’s safety, while engaging a broader representation of our community in the conversation.

Our panel will be moderated by Rob Allen, Director of Community Security at the JCRC of Minnesota and the Dakotas. Our speakers will include Jewish community safety and security expert Yoni Bundt; gun violence prevention advocate Lori Weissman; and scholar of firearm injury prevention Marc Zimmerman, PhD. The Town Hall format is designed to create a brave space that is nonpartisan, apolitical, and inclusive of a wide range of perspectives.

Our goal is to create a learning opportunity that will focus on security in our Jewish community, the impact of gun violence and trauma on individuals and organizations, and what steps we can take to make our communities safer. We hope that this Town Hall conversation will help to build a more connected Jewish Minnesota by creating a model for respectful and inclusive conversation – even in areas where we might disagree.

We anticipate that the participants in the program will come away with a greater understanding of and respect for the diversity of perspectives on guns, gun violence, and gun safety that exist within our Jewish community. The participants for whom engagement and action are their personal goals will come away with opportunities to continue to be involved in programs and advocacy related to addressing antisemitism, promoting gun safety, and improving safety for Jewish community members and others.

Register via Eventbrite (event is via Zoom)

Organizing Partners:

Adath Jeshurun Congregation

Bet Shalom Congregation

Beth El Synagoguge

Beth Jacob Congregation

Hadassah Minneapolis St. Paul

Heilicher Minneapolis Jewish Day School

Jewish Community Action

Minneapolis Jewish Federation

Minnesota JCC

Mount Zion Temple

Multiracial Jewish Association of Minnesota

PRISM

St. Paul Jewish Federation

TC Jewfolk

Temple Israel

Zioness Twin Cities