A Virginia festival cancels menorah lighting section, claiming it endorses Gaza violence

[Matty]

https://twitter.com/AvivaKlompas/status/1731462879889457225

[Roll Roons]

But antisemitism is only bad when it's coming from white Trump supporters because ... reasons.

[Vosem]

We shouldn't lose sight that this is awful because they don't endorse the campaign in Gaza.

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

We have allies in government and they need to start taking this seriously. Civil antidiscrimination suits for cases like this, federal riot and hate crime charges for the mobs.

[Aurelius2]

Looking forward to hearing from the usual suspects about how "the only Jew-haters are on the right".

[Crumpets]

I would say "Jesus Christ," but that seems uniquely inappropriate here.

[Xing]

Antisemitism is inexcusable no matter which side of the aisle it’s coming from (and sadly, antisemitism knows no ideology.)

[7,052,770]

Do we have any link that confirms this story and its details?

[Crumpets]

Do we have any link that confirms this story and its details?

I found this response statement from the United Jewish Community of the Virginia Peninsula:

The Jewish Community of the Virginia Peninsula is shocked and alarmed at LoveLight Placemaking’s decision to cancel a menorah lighting scheduled for the Second Sundays Art and Music Festival on Dec 10 in Williamsburg – claiming it did not want to appear to choose sides in the Israel-Hamas conflict. To be clear, the menorah lighting, which was to be led by a local community rabbi, had nothing to do with Israel or the conflict.

Yet, appallingly, the event organizer claimed that a Chanukah celebration would send a message that the festival was "supporting the killing/bombing of thousands of men, women, and children," -- and even went a step further, by offering to reinstate the event if it was done under a banner calling for a ceasefire.

https://ujcvp.org/ujc-chai-lights/f/statement-on-second-sunday%E2%80%99s-cancellation-of-hanukkah-celebration

[Thank you for being a friend...]

So what does this mean?  Any expression at all to celebrate Jewish life and culture is going to be made invisible?  If you can't light a menorah, then goodness sakes what if you're walking down the street wearing a kippah?  That makes you a "murderer"?  Yes that's the same kind of antisemitic garbage that was spreading around Europe 100 years ago and we all saw where that leads.

Horrible, horrible decision, and the festival is called "LoveLight Placemaking".  This is not making a place for love at all.

[7,052,770]

Are they demanding a "ceasefire" just now? Like when there was one for a few days until Hamas broke it?

[certified hummus supporter 🇵🇸🤝🇺🇸🤝🇺🇦]

Not a single brain cell was being used when these organizers made this decision apparently

We shouldn't lose sight that this is awful because they don't endorse the campaign in Gaza.

It may be hard for you to understand, but not everybody is as bloodthirsty as you are for Gazans

[Landslide Lyndon]

It might be a new thing in the US but here the issue of Palestine was used for decades now as a fig leaf to conceal the far left's virulent antisemitism. The guys demonstrated out of the Israeli embassy in the immediate aftermath of the October 7th attacks when the images of dead Jews were still playing on TV.

[Badger]

JFC

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

But antisemitism is only bad when it's coming from white Trump supporters because ... reasons.

It's "decolonization" when they do it.