Congregant Arrested in ICE Jail Jewish Protest - June 30, 2019
On June 30, 2019, CBE congregant Michaela Caplan, pictured above, was arrested alongside 35 other Jews as they protested, along with hundreds of others, in front of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) jail in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
From Michaela:
Earlier today (Sunday), I was arrested alongside 35 other Jews while shutting down the ICE detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
I grew up learning about my family’s history and about the Holocaust. And I grew up pondering the meaning of never again. What would I do if fascism crystallized in the country I lived in? How would I take action, and when?
Never again is now.
ICE is terrorizing entire communities with raids and deportations. Children are separated from their families and placed in concentration camps with filthy conditions and meager food supplies.
Never again is now.
This crisis is not contained to this moment. What is happening now grew out of centuries of settler colonialism, of borders and pipelines forced through indigenous land, of indigenous people and indigenous migration routes increasingly criminalized in their own land. What is happening now has emerged from the American state and American companies destabilizing Central and Southern American countries through foreign policy, resource privatization, and regime change.
Never again is now.
This crisis is not contained to this moment. What is happening now will ripple through the generations. The children forced from their parents will grow up with trauma incomprehensible to most of us. That trauma will be passed down. The violence of this moment is timeless, and it must be stopped.
Never again is now. What will you do about it?
(If you want to learn more, support this specific action and legal support for it, or plan your own, check out: https://www.neveragainaction.com/)
The photo on the right, above, is from the Democracy Now headline about this protest.