New Yorkers Say No to Anti-Semitism
Crowds jam Foley Square, cross Brooklyn Bridge in solidarity with Jewish community
Tens of thousands turned out in Foley Square in Lower Manhattan on Sunday morning, January 5, to
send a clear message rejecting the recent wave of anti-Semitic violence in the New York area.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, with her wife, Rabbi Sharon
Kleinbaum, the leader of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, the LGBTQ synagogue.
PHOTO ESSAY BY DONNA ACETO
By the tens of thousands,
New Yorkers turned out
on Sunday, January 5,
to stand in solidarity
against anti-Semitism in the wake
of numerous recent attacks targeting
the area’s Jewish community.
The throngs gathered in Foley
Square in Lower Manhattan for a
march over the Brooklyn Bridge to
a rally in Cadman Plaza.
Dubbed “No Hate, No Fear,” the
gathering aimed to make clear, in
the words of the UJA Federation of
New York, that, “The 1.5 million
Jews of our great city and region
will not stand down.”
Congregation Beit Simchat Torah
Senior Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum,
who was on hand with her
wife, Randi Weingarten, president
of the American Federation
of Teachers, told Gay City News,
“We stand with our immigrant
and Muslim communities when
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A message of strength and resilience from a
young one.
they are under attack and we are
deeply moved to be joined by allies
condemning anti-Semitism.
We call on all people of all sexual
orientations and gender identities,
and whatever other identities we
hold dear, to continue being the
reason that others believe in the
goodness of people.”
Throngs jammed Foley Square early on the morning of January 5.
A message from the son of Holocaust survivors.
Jason Rosenberg, an out gay
Jewish New Yorker and a member
of ACT UP, said the march represented
an opportunity to resist all
forms of discrimination, including
anti-Semitism, racism, transphobia,
and more.
“I think we are seeing internal
tensions in the Jewish community,
and I think it’s important we
come together and we show up for
people along the margins of denomination
and identity and to
celebrate the diversity of the Jewish
faith,” Rosenberg said.
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HUMAN RIGHTS
The march followed an escalation
of anti-Semitic attacks locally,
especially during the month
of December. There was a deadly
attack at a kosher supermarket in
Jersey City on December 10, and
on December 28, a man invaded
a Hasidic rabbi’s home in the New
York City suburb of Monsey and
stabbed half a dozen people celebrating
a Hanukkah party. There
have been numerous other anti-
Semitic on buses, in the street,
and on train platforms, among
other public spaces.
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