Before COVID-19, when my community convened every Shabbat at our synagogue here, two men stood at opposite ends of the property wearing Kevlar vests and holding makeshift nylon shields. These shields covered the men’s long automatic rifles so that our community’s children wouldn’t face heavy firearms every time they ambled into services.
How should I feel about those police officers standing tall in the Texas heat, and the protection they afford me, when they wear the same badge as the officer who murdered Botham Jean in his apartment? How should we religious Jews feel about police officers who ran toward the gunfire in Pittsburgh and Poway when they wear similar badges as those responsible for the deaths of George Floyd and many others?
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