Jewish Federation Reaction to Charges Filed By Prosecutor Maleng

SEATTLE - At a news conference immediately following the announcement by King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng of the charges he filed against Naveed Haq, Robin Boehler, the Chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle made the following statement:

“Prosecutor Norm Maleng just announced the charges levied against the accused in Friday’s shooting at our downtown offices. We are satisfied with these charges and fully expect the prosecutor’s office to prosecute a fair and speedy trial.

”The hate crimes charge is an important one. It calls out loud and clear that there is hate in America we must recognize, prosecute and rout out. We must address it head on.

“These nine charges do not just represent crimes, they represent women who were going about their daily lives, working unselfishly for the community on a Friday afternoon. We must think of these charges representing,

A mother, friend and leader who was taken from her community
A friend, co-worker and president of her Unitarian church
A mother working day in, day out to provide for her son
A mother-to be, who recently reaffirmed her commitment to Judaism
A young woman starting her philanthropic career
A fun-loving, dedicated daughter coming into her own
And a teenager boldly making her way in life.

”We will be watching this prosecution closely, making sure each woman’s energy and spirit is in the courtroom everyday.

”While there is no silver lining to such a horrific event, the past few days has shown the strong side of our community--an outpouring of support from the interfaith community, messages and calls from Jews and non-Jews around the world, a strength and commitment from the local Jewish community like you have never seen.

”Now it is up to us to make sure that good prevails. In fact, in the Talmud, there is a story about a funeral procession and a wedding procession approaching a narrow corridor at the same time. As community members stood there not sure what to do, the rabbis direct the wedding procession to proceed first. They explain, joy should always lead the way from grief.

”And so tonight, after days of grieving, we are coming together as a Jewish community to begin to allow joy to creep back into our lives. We invite it. And we invite everyone to join us at the Jewish Community Gathering for Healing being held tonight at Temple De Hirsch on Capital Hill from 5-6 pm.

”And so we will begin to heal and reaffirm that:

We must continue to confront hate swiftly
We must continue to create interfaith connections and understanding
We must continue the Jewish Federation’s mission of helping those in need in our community locally and abroad.“

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