By Grace Gilson
After Alex Jeffrey Pretti was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis last Saturday, Jan. 24, Jewish voices were among the many that quickly rose up in condemnation.
The voices have included both progressive Jewish groups that regularly inveigh against right-wing policies and, increasingly, mainstream groups that say they represent American Jewry from across the political spectrum.
The American Jewish Committee, for example, issued an extensive statement expressing concern following the Illinois-born Pretti’s death.
“In the spirit of American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) enduring commitment to advancing democratic values in the United States and around the world, we are deeply concerned by the recent violence in Minneapolis and the loss of life connected to federal immigration enforcement actions,” wrote the AJC in a statement.
The Department of Homeland Security claimed that Border Patrol officers shot Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse at a Veterans Administration hospital, after he “approached” them with a 9-milimeter semi-automatic handgun. Bystander video of the shooting appears to show that Pretti held a cellphone in his hand before he was wrestled to the ground by officers. He was shot multiple times.
Pretti’s death follows the shooting death of another Minneapolis resident, Renee Good, by an ICE agent earlier this month.
“Regardless of one’s views on immigration policy and enforcement operations, the deaths of two U.S. citizens are a grave outcome that highlights the need for a full review,” continued the AJC. “Overarching demonization of either protesters or federal law enforcement officials is neither accurate nor productive.”
Following the shooting, a “Havdalah of Hope” service organized by Temple Israel of Minneapolis was moved to Zoom out of an “abundance of caution,” according to an email from the synagogue’s Senior Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman.
“This morning, another shooting involving federal officers shook our city. Even as we await more information, we cannot look away from what is unfolding around us. This violence must come to an end,” Rabbi Zimmerman wrote, according to TCJewfolk. “In the face of grief and fear, we do what our tradition has always taught us to do: we draw strength from community; we care for one another; we engage in the endless work of tikkun olam, repairing the world.”
During the Zoom services, Rabbi Arielle Lekach-Rosenberg of Shir Tikvah Congregation in Minneapolis also read the names of Good and Victor Manuel Diaz, who died in ICE custody in Texas.
“We call for justice, and we pray that their memories will be an inspiration and a blessing,” Rabbi Lekach-Rosenberg said.
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs also condemned Pretti’s shooting in a statement, writing, “Our Jewish values demand we speak with moral clarity: we know where unchecked power leads, and that true safety can never come through fear, militarization, or violence.”
“From Charlottesville to January 6th to Minneapolis, this administration has made clear that extremist violence is a tactic they are willing to give license to and support,” the statement continued. “They are weaponizing federal law enforcement against immigrant communities, protesters, and Democratic-led cities based on the bigoted lie of an ‘invasion’ — the same conspiracy theory that has fueled a cycle of extremist violence targeting countless communities.”
Rabbi Nora Feinstein, director of leadership development for the National Council of Jewish Women, wrote in a statement following Pretti’s death that, “This is unconscionable. It is intolerable. And it must end.”
Rabbi Feinstein added that she had just visited Minneapolis for a few days where she convened with hundreds of clergy and faith leaders “because our faiths demand that we do not stand idly by while our neighbors suffer.”
Grace Gilson wrote this article for the JTA global Jewish media source.
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