Je Suis Sarah Halimi
By: Sofia Bralich
On April 4, 2017, Sarah Halimi was killed by her neighbor, Kobili Traoré, when he threw her out of her apartment window. This brutal murder is an immense tragedy on its own. However, the tragedy and pain from her murder is intensified by the decision of the French supreme court to not bring her murderer to trial. The court ruled recently that Traoré was mentally incapacitated due to smoking cannabis and therefore cannot be held accountable. This failure of justice is dangerous. It sends the message that Jewish lives are inconsequential and that antisemitism will be protected.
Sarah Halimi’s murder is a chilling reminder of the reality the Jewish community exists in. The reality that while antisemitism is on an alarming rise, the systems that should provide justice fail us. Unfortunately, this isn’t something new. We know that systems of power, including the courts, were never built to protect the vulnerable; they exist to maintain the status quo of the power. It is exhausting and difficult and overwhelming to be faced with this fact and experience the heartbreak from the consequences of it. It is exhausting to be faced with yet another tragedy that springs from antisemitism and to see it be ignored. To feel that our very existence as human beings and as Jewish people mean nothing to those in power. We know what happens when these things are accepted. It means that hate is given a space to grow and thrive while it threatens to block us out.
But no matter how angry or overwhelmed or heartbroken it makes us feel to be faced with immense tragedy, we also have a responsibility. We have a responsibility to Sarah Halimi to remember her and to keep fighting until this never happens again. Even now, there are thousands of people protesting across France and across the world to demand justice for Sarah Halimi. There is an international social media campaign to raise awareness and show solidarity with the hashtags #JusticeForSarah and #JeSuisSarah. The fight does not end until she receives justice, and even then it continues until we can all live safely away from the threat of antisemitism. May Sarah Halimi’s memory be a blessing and a constant reminder of our responsibility to stand together and demand justice.
Sofía Bralich (they/them/elle) is a Latine nonbinary lesbian in the process of converting to Judaism. They are currently earning a bachelor’s in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in Women’s, Chicano, and Religious Studies. Sofía is from the border city of El Paso which had led to a lifelong interest in cross-cultural relationships and intersectionality.
