Boston JCRC
The ADL stated that it is “deeply concerned” by the “escalating activity” of the responsible group.
The hostage-taking situation in Colleyville, Texas, wasn’t new in that it took place on Shabbat. But for an observant Jew in charge of disseminating information, it presents certain challenges.
“At a time of rising violence anti-Semitism across this country no Jew, no building, no part of our community, no neighborhood will stand alone,” said the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston’s executive director Jeremy Burton.
“It is utterly shocking that a member of the Massachusetts Senate would elevate Hamas as a legitimate actor in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” said the Boston JCRC.
In a now-deleted tweet, the Democratic Majority for Israel wrote that Nancy Kaufman, the former head of the National Council for Jewish Women, has too often “enabled, rather than battled, anti-Semitism.”
The final vote was 40 to expel, 48 against it with 10 abstentions. ZOA’s Mort Klein took aim at J Street and other progressive groups, saying these “radical adversaries condemned ZOA based on a set of distortions, absurdities and blatant lies.”
The Coalition for Jewish Values argued that the charges brought against ZOA national president Mort Klein “combine a demand for ideological conformity with demonization in place of debate.”
In a nod to the controversy, the Membership Committee did recommend that the organization adopt language to make clear its stance against white supremacism and racism.
The synagogue’s leadership warned that “the attack on democracy is literally unprecedented,” referring to the president’s refusal to concede the election to Democratic contender President-elect Joe Biden.
ZOA told JNS that another example of the far-left’s “cancel culture” is aimed at “undermining” the organization, as well as “Klein’s strong defense of Israel and the Jewish people.”
“We believe that our commonwealth is stronger when faith communities and elected leaders come together and stand with each other in public civic space. It is unfortunate that, in these times of urgent and necessary solidarity across communities, inappropriate actors are being unnecessarily mainstreamed,” Jeremy Burton, executive director of JCRC Boston.
The decision by the Boston JCRC to draw a red line against community members who align with anti-Zionist groups may have major ramifications for other Jewish areas across North America.
