Man burns library books on Jewish history, including Anne Frank’s diary, in Jewish suburb of Cleveland
A man checked out dozens of books on Jewish history and other marginalized topics from a public library in a heavily Jewish Cleveland suburb before filming himself apparently setting fire to them, local authorities said.
Local Jewish leaders decried the incident at the Beachwood Public Library, appearing alongside other interfaith leaders at a press conference Monday outside a local church to denounce the burnings.
The books the man burned included a copy of “The Diary of Anne Frank” and a title dealing with “Jewish Solidarity,” a researcher with Princeton University’s Bridging Divides Initiative told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. The Princeton lab, which tracks political violence, first flagged the man’s video with the library after seeing it on the social network social media.
Chicago theater cancels screening of post-Oct. 7 documentary, citing community ‘safety and well-being’
(JTA) — A Chicago theater canceled an advance screening of “Bring the Family Home,” a documentary about campus antisemitism, four hours before its showtime, citing “the safety and well-being of our community.”
Rami Even-Esh, an Israeli-American Jewish rapper who uses the stage name Kosha Dillz, created the still-unfinished documentary about his music and life on college campuses after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The screening was also to feature a panel discussion with Kosha Dillz and Michael Kaminsky, a Jewish student who was assaulted last November in an alleged hate crime at the nearby DePaul university.
But before Tuesday’s screening could take place, Facets, an independent cinema in Chicago, canceled it. The theater announced the decision in a since-deleted post on Instagram that night that began with the sentence, “We are firmly not an antisemitic organization.”
NYC penalizes organizers of community garden that required members to oppose Zionism
(JTA) — Organizers of a community garden in Ridgewood, Queens, that required members to oppose Zionism may now lose their city license.
Applicants to the Sunset Community Garden were asked to sign a “statement of values” that included opposition to Zionism, antisemitism and “nationalist and/or racist beliefs.”
In an April 16 letter, the New York City Parks Department informed leaders of the garden that the statement had violated guidelines. The department told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the application “required prospective members to affirm the group’s political and ideological viewpoints,” and added, ”Such litmus tests as a barrier to membership are not permitted, regardless of the ideological content.”
Jewish NHL owner suspended after social media spat with fan he called an ‘anti-semite loser’
(JTA) — Florida Panthers minority owner Doug Cifu has been suspended indefinitely by the NHL after a social media spat with a fan that included discussion of the Israel-Hamas war and accusations of antisemitism.
Cifu, a vice chairman and part-owner of the defending Stanley Cup champions since 2013, is Jewish and had five Israeli flag emojis in the bio of his social media account, which has since been deactivated.
On Sunday night, during the Panthers’ playoff victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, a Toronto fan replied to one of Cifu’s posts by asking, “Hey, what’s worse, using headshots to win a series or using starvation as a weapon to win a war?”
Cifu replied, “Actually being a whiny dope anti-semite is clearly worse. Loser.”
