I have just confirmed from 3 sources that Tifereth Israel and or Michael Stinziano will cancel this event.
Thank you all for calling, sending letters and standing up for what is right.
I want to thank all of you who reached out to me to discuss this) 99.9 percent was positive. One gentleman said that he was concerned about restricting free speech and shedding light on CAIR. He thought that questioning them and having them at the event would actually educate our people. I disagreed. Here is what I wrote.
Thank you for your thoughtful letter. I am always uncomfortable in limiting free speech. In this case however I disagree with you. The question you have to ask yourself is would you support having the Nazi party or white supremacists speak at your synagogue?
CAIR according to many is a front for the Muslim brotherhood/Hamas . They certainly are anti Israel and have a consistent record of being "fuzzy" on terror especially against Israeli citizens.
Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood are Islamic supremacists who want to destroy Israel and kill all of the Jews.
Their
rai·son d'ê·tre is to spread propaganda/misdirection to help their unworthy cause.
What is there to talk about?
I personally do not think that there is any benefit for having these people as co sponsors. It gives them credibility and it serves their purposes which is to propagandize and co-opt our community. I think for that reason alone it is a bad idea.
There is nothing to discuss with people that want you dead.
Standing Together The Columbus Interfaith Community Rejecting Hate ?
Tifereth Israel and the Jewish federation are co-sponsoring an event with CAIR. Who is CAIR? The Council on American Islamic relations.
Now before I hear the calls of hatred, racism and oh G-d forbid "Islamophobia" let me be clear.
Having interfaith meetings, discussions, with Christians, Arabs and ... Republicans is a good thing.
Having a local mosque that has been vetted at an event like this is a good thing.
Having a group that has been founded by a terrorist group at an event against hate is a BAD THING.
It is monumentally stupid.
Is our community that bereft of leadership that we can let this happen? There are many like me who care deeply about our community, and about Israel. We write letters to the editor, we read as much as we can, and we speak out. To have our community sponsor an event with such an abhorrent group is demoralizing.
These things don't happen in a vacuum. They occur because people are afraid to speak out. They don't want to be bullied, called racists, bigots etc.
How about this for a concept. Want to hold a community meeting rejecting hate? THEN IT IS PROBABLY A GOOD IDEA TO NOT INVITE A GROUP FOUNDED ON HATE.
Tell your Rabbis, Cantors, including Cantor Chomsky that you reject hate and they should too.
NO CAIR
NO KKK
NO hate groups.
Remove CAIR as a co-sponsor of STANDING TOGETHER.
Educate the head of the Columbus City Council Michael Stiniziano on CAIRs history. I am including some links.
Remember Marilyn Brown the next time you vote for a county commissioner.
Reject hate, protect our community.
Sincerely
Larry Levine
Blacklick Ohio
llevine@artbrands.com
The Jewish Federation phone number
