Jews and non-Jews in Arizona and Ohio gathered Sunday to express their concern over the recent rise in antisemitism across the country and around the world.
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In Cincinnati, hundreds attended the "Under the Tent, Standing Against Antisemitism" event to stand in solidarity against Jew-hatred in Ohio and elsewhere.
"We join together as Jews and allies to send a strong message that we will not tolerate hate and antisemitism in any form," said Gary Greenberg, former president of the Jewish Federation, who said a university student was assaulted because he had Hebrew lettering on his shirt.
"Sadly, we are witnessing a disturbing rise in antisemitism and violent attacks against Jews in broad daylight in cities across America, including, unfortunately, in Cincinnati. We must also have zero tolerance for antisemitism, just as we should have zero tolerance for any other form of bigotry."
The event was sponsored, among others, by the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati and the Jewish Community Relations Council of Cincinnati.
Meanwhile, the rally in Tucson, Arizona, came after two local congregations were vandalized in recent weeks.
Some 200 people, including Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, State Representative Alma Hernandez and others local dignitaries, assembled at the Chabad on River. Carrying blue-and-white posters that had a Jewish star on them and read "Tucson Jews for Justice," participants marched to the nearby Jewish Community Center.
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"Antisemitism has no place in Tucson or anywhere for that matter," Romero tweeted along with a photo of herself at the rally. "We have a moral imperative to speak out unequivocally against it in all of its forms."
The Chabad on River, one of several Chabad Houses in the region, was the recent target of antisemitic graffiti that included a swastika and derogatory terms drawn on the building. Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime.
Also vandalized within the last month was Congregation Chaverim in Tucson, where Hernandez, the state legislator who helped organize the rally, is a member. Speaking during the rally, she said: "It's really sad to see that so many folks have used antisemitism to target the Jewish community for no other reason than us being Jews."
Reprinted with permission from JNS.org
