Dear Editor,
Last week on June 20th, we received an e-mail from the Jewish Federation announcing an opportunity to participate in the PRIDE parade in support of the LGBQT+ community. We can’t get over the absurdity of this communication requesting members of the community to participate but, at the same time, with advice to carefully hide their Jewish identity. Such advice seemed reasonable as we were also told that two Jewish leaders on the Cincinnati Pride Board of Directors had recently resigned after receiving harassment and violent threats over support for Israel. We sincerely empathize with these individuals but also applaud their decision to resign from this organization perhaps in protest.
This case also illustrates the folly of our own local Jewish organizations expending extraordinary energy building bridges with groups that enable or promote anti-Zionism and antisemitism while discounting the importance of strengthening bonds with much larger and more supportive non-Jewish members of our community that unequivocally despise antisemitism and support Israel in her current war of survival. After October 7, we Jews can no longer remain silent about the plague of antisemitism infecting America. We must come out of the shadows together as a united Cincinnati Jewish Community, put aside our personal differences, and loudly advocate for Israel and against antisemitism.
David I Bernstein
Darrell Radin
David Kaber
Ben Rodriguez
and the Cincinnati Coalition for Israel