Position Statements
NTMA Support of Cook County United Against Hate
July 1, 2024
By posting this icon on our website, NTMA pledges to stand up against intolerance of any kind, equip ourselves with the knowledge to support those with different lived experiences, and champion efforts toward social justice.
Specifically, NTMA and its members pledge to unite against hate and join with our community to welcome all people regardless of their race, religion, ethnicity, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, class, or other background. We pledge to:
- Actively learn from those with lived experiences that are different from ours
- Question hateful acts when we see or hear them
- Educate ourselves on how to safely interrupt hate
- Support efforts towards social justice
- Inspire others to take this pledge
This beacon of unity also serves to disrupt the symbols of hate that are too many to count, and which have intercepted the mainstream both online and off.
We encourage our members, their representatives and the public to sign the anti-hate pledge and to access the many resources available: Home | United Against Hate (cookcountyunitedagainsthate.com)
NTMA Position on Hate Speech & Violence
November 6, 2023
Members of the New Trier Multifaith Alliance — comprising over 15 diverse Faith communities on Chicago’s North Shore promoting interfaith understanding and respect –- share the profound dismay and repulsion being felt across America as shameful acts of hate and violence are being perpetrated on Jews and Muslims, notably on the campuses of some of the country’s oldest and most distinguished colleges and universities.
We live in a republic with a dearly purchased heritage of democracy and freedom, however imperfect. We take pride in its wide opportunities for individual and collective debate concerning the most challenging problems facing us and how best to remedy them. There should be no tolerance, however, wherever such debate cultivates hate. Those who trample on the rights of others should be held accountable, and where there is evidence of the promotion of violence, the instigators should be brought to justice.
We join peace-loving people everywhere in fervently praying for a swift end to the loss of innocent life in the Holy Land and a renewal of efforts to find a mutually agreeable resolution to the longstanding grievances of all parties.
NTMA Position on Violence in Gaza
October 13, 2023
Together with people of good will everywhere, the New Trier Multifaith Alliance (NTMA) expresses dismay and profound sorrow over the carnage and destruction that has spread across Israel and Gaza. With heavy hearts, we extend our deepest sympathies to the victims and their families. We join communities of Faith–in our region and around the world–in condemning the disregard for fellow humans shown in the senseless acts of brutality committed by terrorists. We abhor every act of violence engendered by hatred and prejudice. We join civilized people of all religious persuasions in declaring that terrorism can never, for any reason, be justified.
We grow daily more concerned about the bloodshed and suffering among civilian populations on both sides of the conflict. It is our fervent hope that all parties will resolve to establish lasting peace and justice for all residents of a land sacred to them and to millions across the globe.
We ask our members to encourage respectful dialogue within and among our communities and to be reminded that sometimes misinformation is shared in social or mass media that is meant to divide us.
Peace be upon us all.