In Grief, We Must Not Retreat

December 2025

With broken hearts, the Jewish Liberation Fund joins with Jews and friends around the world in grief and mourning for the twelve precious lives destroyed on the first night of Chanukah in Sydney, and for the two young people killed on Saturday in Providence. We send comfort and deep care to the families and loved ones of those killed, and to all who are grappling with the pain of these unfathomable losses. Below are reflections on this devastating weekend from JLF's Director of Grassroots Partnerships, Jordan Mann, a resident of Providence, RI and a Brown Alum.

May all who grieve be comforted, and may the memories of all those we've lost be a blessing,

Joanna Ware
Executive Director

This Saturday, I got a call from my roommate. He was concerned that I was on campus at Brown University, my alma mater, where I worked for 4 years at the Hillel, and where I volunteered for 5 as a coach for the Cross Country and Track and Field teams. And where, on Saturday afternoon, a still-unidentified individual opened fire, killing two students and injuring 9 others. The shooting happened in the building that houses my roommate's lab, and in a room in which one of my friends just finished teaching a Computer Science course this semester.

After a tense and quiet night in Providence (the shooter is still at large), we woke up the next day to the news of another mass shooting across the world, this one targeting a Chanukah lighting in Sydney, Australia, leaving 16 dead and 43 injured, both numbers including one of the gunmen.

Fortunately, I and those close to me are physically okay. Of course, I'm saddened, upset, and hurt by two consecutive days of mass violence targeting communities I call home. I'm angered by the places I've seen spreading misinformation, weaponizing the pain of real people to spread self-serving, false, narratives. But more than anything, I feel disappointed at how unsurprising all of this is. Even in a place close to me, it still feels like one more drop in a river of mass violence in our country and in the world.

The flow of that river is overwhelming. Not only for the friends and family of the victims, for whom the loss of a loved one is an enormous and world-shattering tragedy, but also for those who continue to live on in fear– fear of antisemitic or islamophobic violence directed at them for being Jewish or Muslim, fear of state or military violence directed at them for being black, trans, or poor, or even simply the fear that in this world, this could happen to any of us, or our children, friends, parents, or lovers indiscriminately. It's scary, it's hard, and it doesn't make sense that anyone has to grieve and fear for the lives of loved ones for going to class, to worship, to gather with friends.

As we search for a way to make sense of it all, it is easy, even natural, to retreat in towards ourselves and our own communities and to distrust others who are not like us. We must absolutely resist the temptation to do this. In spite of the horrifying darkness we saw over the weekend, yesterday, we also saw the light of what it means to show love for our neighbors. The Sydney massacre was stopped not by armed officials of any sort, but by a nearby Muslim fruit store owner, Ahmed al-Ahmed, who heroically charged the gunman from behind, took him to the ground, and wrestled his weapon from him, saving lives. This sort of solidarity, trust, and love is one of the things we must build upon as we imagine how we would live in Olam Ha-ba, the World to Come.

I feel thankful that at JLF, I work at a place committed to leaning in to the values of the world as we wish it was. I have been inspired by our commitment to Kavod Habriyot— the sanctity of human life– in all aspects of our messaging, culture, vision, and how we aspire to treat and talk about the people within and beyond our communities. The world to come will not be built on indiscriminate violence or in the name of fear, hate, and exclusion of the stranger, whether those "others" be Jews or anyone else.

At JLF, we are building an alternative model for funding social movements that is rooted in safety, dignity, and opportunity for each and every one of us. These are values on which we can build a more liberatory world. That's why, especially in a moment like this, with my menorah lit in my window, I'm proud to come to work today.

Jordan Mann
Director of Grassroots Partnerships