Solitary Confinement is a Form of Torture: Support the California Hunger Strikers

This is the fast I have chosen:
to unlock the shackles of injustice,
to loosen the ropes of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to tear every yoke apart!
ISAIAH 58

As we prepare to fast for Yom Kippur, our hearts are with the California inmates who have undertaken a hunger strike to bring attention to inhumane confinement conditions and prolonged use of solitary confinement.

Across the United States today, thousands of prisoners are held for years in solitary confinement. Prolonged solitary confinement is recognized as a form of torture in many countries because of its destructive physical and psychological effects. It destabilizes prisoners, making it harder for them to be rehabilitated over the course of their sentences. How can a prisoner achieve teshuvah if their confinement destroys their human dignity and self-worth?

Since last Monday, prisoners in at least eight prisons have been refusing meals to hold prison officials to an agreement, made at the end of a hunger strike this summer,  to review the inmates' five major demands. The hunger strike is the last resort of prisoners protesting deplorable conditions. It goes against both American and Jewish values to degrade fellow human beings this way.

Let Governor Jerry Brown know that we must end this form of torture on our own shores! Add your name to the petition below supporting the hunger strikers and asking that their concerns be addressed.