Marc Elrich Comments on “Local Impact from Hamas-Israel War”

In his weekly message to the community, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich commented on the “Local Impact from Hamas-Israel War”. The excerpt can be seen below:

“Over the past two weeks, I have had many conversations with members of the Jewish and Muslim communities and others with connections to the Middle East. While our diverse communities fear for the safety of their family and friends abroad, they also fear for themselves and their loved ones at home here in Montgomery County. They are worrying about what could occur here in their neighborhoods, synagogues and mosques. The recent murder of a 6-year-old in Chicago, as well as a rise in harassment and hateful rhetoric, has heightened concerns.

As a local government with significant Jewish and Muslim communities, we are committed to listening and engaging with our residents who are concerned and feeling attacked and vulnerable. People in our community are deeply impacted and suffering because of what is happening in Israel and Palestine. There are County employees who are Jewish and Muslim who have lost loved ones, and we have neighbors who are afraid to walk down the streets here in our community. We are determined that Montgomery County will remain a safe place for all.

I appreciate the County Council for supporting my supplemental request that I sent over last week, adding an additional $100,000 to the Nonprofit and Faith Communities Security Grant program for communities fearing for their safety and well-being. Montgomery County also has the Partnership Fund for Victims of Hate/Violence in our Office of Human Rights. It has been part of our community since 1987 to help provide partial compensation for property damage and help victims of racial, ethnic or religious based attacks. Individuals and private institutions may be eligible to receive financial assistance from the fund to repair or replace property if it has been damaged because of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability. Groups must apply for the assistance soon after through the Office of Human Rights. For more information on the Partnership Fund, visit montgomerycountymd.gov/humanrights.

Civilian deaths are horrifying, regardless of where they occur. The emotional impact on people from the deaths of loved ones who were simply trying to live their lives and harming no one is hard to accept. We will not tolerate acts of hate by anyone. I hope all of us can grieve as we need to, but that we can also restrain ourselves from lashing out at our neighbors and friends. What has happened abroad should not change how we interact with people here.

We need our schools to double down on anti-bullying resources for Muslim and Jewish students. Schools should be a safe place for students and should help students to process the hurt and rage they are feeling. We need to support our children who are struggling to make sense of this.

I recommend subscribing to our Faith Community Advisory Group newsletter, which updates the community on matters related to organized religious groups and community partners with ties to those groups. The latest newsletter had good information about County, State, Federal and nonprofit resources to help support communities during these challenging times. You can visit faithmcmd.org to sign up for newsletters or find resources that can help through tough times.”