The following is a statement from Richard Besser, MD, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Antisemitism and Islamophobia—and the bitter violence they spawn—have been, and continue to be, intractable barriers to health and wellbeing for everyone. Hate degrades health—for all of us.
We support families abroad and in the U.S. grieving their lost loved ones. We denounce the hateful and corrosive rhetoric and violence aimed at Jewish people and Muslim people—particularly in light of the escalating war in the Middle East.
We continue working with our partners to tear down the barriers that have been intentionally built to keep us divided, and to name and confront the deeper root causes of violence. These barriers are not stronger than the core value we share—to live in a world where all communities are safe and free from violence.