Regarding the Nov. 24 Metro article “CASA’s backers revolt after pro-Palestinian posts”:
I am a longtime supporter of CASA, an immigrants’ rights group. I also have ancestors who were murdered in the Holocaust. It was a terrible mistake for the group’s executive director, Gustavo Torres, to equate Israel’s assault on Gaza with “ethnic cleansing.” That said, he also condemned the “outrageous attack by Hamas in Israel” and added, “Our hearts go out to the innocent children and families caught in the midst of this horrendous conflict.”
I believe this was a teachable moment for Mr. Torres and that his apology was sincere. He sat down with Jewish friends, according to the article, to learn why his remark was offensive. Mr. Torres’s apology was consistent with someone who has spent the better part of his life lifting up the forgotten and seeking justice for the dispossessed.
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We should not make the perfect the enemy of the good. The thousands of people helped by CASA should not pay the price of Mr. Torres’s lack of understanding. I think he has learned his lesson well.
Share this articleShareRoss Wells, Takoma Park
As a member of an organization that has proudly provided funding and volunteer support to CASA, I, along with many of our members, was shocked and appalled by the terrible antisemitic wording by Gustavo Torres, CASA’s executive director. One of his most egregious comments was to call for an immediate cease-fire to “halt the systematic ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”
Although Mr. Torres has apologized and set forth a plan for restorative steps, such as “internal training on antisemitic, anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias,” the reality is that until we see clear evidence of these positive actions, the wider community will not know whether the damage can be corrected.
Some think Mr. Torres, a longtime community leader, should be fired. Others think his stature in the community will allow him to be a stronger voice for the acceptance and value of all people, regardless of race, ethnicity or religion. We need time to see whether he commits to taking the necessary steps and maintains them.
Harriet Shugerman, Bethesda
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