The Jewish mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, has made international headlines this week in the wake of Wednesday's fatal shooting by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis.
The deceased woman, Renee Nicole Good, 37, was an American citizen and in her car at the scene of an ICE operation.
After reportedly being given conflicting orders by agents, she was shot through her car window. This was claimed to have been an act of "self-defence".
The incident has led to widespread protests across the US against the controversial law enforcement agency.
Speaking in stark terms after the shooting, Frey said: "We collectively are going to do everything possible to get to the bottom of this, to get justice and to make sure that there is an investigation conducted in full - but what we do know is that a 37-year-old woman is dead, and she was shot by ICE.
"We’ve dreaded this moment since the early stages of this ICE presence in Minneapolis … They are not here to create safety in this city, what they are doing is causing chaos and distrust. They are ripping families apart, sowing chaos in our streets, and in this case are literally killing people.
"They are already trying to spin this as an act of self-defence. Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly – that is bulls***.
"This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody getting killed. Your only reason for being in our city is to create some kind of safety, and you are doing the opposite."
Frey continued: "We are better than a bunch of agents being deployed to rip apart families and communities – we're better than that. We are going to meet that hate, with love… In this moment, we will not take the bait that ICE agents are trying to create. They want us to respond in a way that creates a military occupation. They want an excuse to come in and show the kind of force that will create more chaos. Let's not let them."
Frey, who took office in 2018, was born in Arlington County, Virginia, into a Jewish family. His mother is of Ashkenazi ancestry and his father converted. He grew up in a Reform household and attends both Temple Israel Reform Synagogue in Minneapolis as well as the Reform Shir Tikvah synagogue with his wife, who is also a convert to Judaism.
Frey is open about his Jewishness and has spoken about drawing on his Jewish values in politics. In 2019, he said: “The moral imperative outlined by tikkun olam [the Jewish concept of ‘repairing the world’] is something I believe in strongly and is foundational both to Judaism but also my philosophy in government.”
Frey has also previously told Jewish Insider that even though he had already been a practicing Jew, he began embracing his Jewish identity to an even greater extent after October 7: “My ethnicity has risen greatly over the last year in the way that I think of myself and how others think of me,” he said.
“There was a moment where I thought to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, there are all these people coming out against Jews, should I not be as out in front? Should I not be as vocal about my identity as a Jew?’ And as soon as I thought that it was almost a slap in the face: ‘No, I have to be more out front. I have to be more vocal’.”
In the wake of October 7 and the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, he has condemned Hamas and also criticised Israel for its "excessive bombing" of Gaza. He also called for a ceasefire, whilst vetoing a move for the city to recognise a Palestinian state.
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