Farmington Hills, MI, January 7, 2014 – The Society for Humanistic Judaism joins the world community in condemning this morning’s terrorist attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, a French satiric weekly, in which twelve people were murdered and numerous others injured, some seriously. Part of a long-standing French tradition of satiric commentary, Charlie Hebdo has published caricatures of Mohammed and Islam, as well as cartoons lampooning other religions, politics, and French society. Their offices had been firebombed in 2011 after publishing a cartoon of Mohammad and had received numerous threats relating to their caricatures of Mohammad and other Muslim leaders.
“We are appalled and deeply saddened by this violent attack on ideas and unjustified loss of life. This was an attack on freedom of speech and freedom of the press,” said SHJ executive director Bonnie Cousens. “It was an assault upon our fundamental values, upon the freedoms on which our democratic societies are built, with horrendous consequences to the Charlie Hebdo family.”
The SHJ extends its sympathy to the Charlie Hebdo magazine family, to their families and friends, and to free people around the globe. We empathize with the community’s pain and offer our condolences to all who are suffering the losses caused by this horrific attack.
