Latest News
- sWho’s Attacking Palestinian Christians? by Bassam Tawil
- aAustralian Jewish Group Says Proposed Swastika Ban Doesn’t Go Far Enough by Benjamin Kerstein
- Ehud Olmert: Nothing has changed since last election
- Build, Bibi, Build by Caroline Glick
- Local Newspapers Are Dying Because They Don’t Represent America
- UCLA Under Investigation for Anti-Semitism by Sara Dogan
- Expanding Settlement Construction Now Will Pay Dividends Later
- המסע היהודי לחלל: עשר עובדות על “העולמות העליונים”
- New Approach to Fight the New Antisemites
- sUS seeks normalization of ties between Israel, Arab states By OMRI NAHMIAS
KKK-AFFILIATED GROUP TO HOLD ‘POWDER KEG’ RALLY IN HEART OF JEWISH DAYTON BY MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN
At the same time, upwards of 1,000 counter protestors are expected to turn up at the square, including the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense.
White supremacists clash with counter protesters at a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S., Augu
White supremacists clash with counter protesters at a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S., August 12, 2017. (photo credit: REUTERS/JOSHUA ROBERTS)
A KKK rally scheduled to be held on May 25 in Dayton, Ohio, “is a dangerous situation,” according to Rabbi Ari Ballaban, local head of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC).
On Saturday, an Indiana-based affiliate of the KKK, the Honorable Sacred Knights, will hold a rally from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Courthouse Square in downtown Dayton. The group, which should number only about 20 people, will mask their faces and carry certain firearms, according to its agreement with the city.
At the same time, upwards of 1,000 counter-protesters are expected to turn up at the square, including the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense – a US-based black nationalist organization founded in Dallas that has been listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center – and members of the Antifa movement, a conglomeration of left-wing autonomous, militant anti-fascist groups in the United States.
Antifa has a record of scuffling with white supremacists, and was the group that fought against them in Charlottesville in 2017. Then, white nationalist groups came in helmets and matching uniforms, and used shields, batons and clubs – until an Ohio man used his car as a weapon, ramming into a crowd and killing a 32-year-old anti-racist protester. More than 70 people were injured.
“The atmosphere at the rally will be contentious,” Cathy Gardner, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton, said in a statement about the May 25 Dayton event. “The threat for potential danger will be high… We know the best option is to stay as far away as possible from Courthouse Square.”
The Dayton City government website devoted a page to the rally, explaining that while city officials and other local leaders are urging the community to avoid the downtown area on May 25, the city has implemented numerous training and operational initiatives as preparation for possible emergencies and large demonstrations.
“Public safety is our prime concern, and we are preparing for that through our police department, our fire department and a number of different departments within the city of Dayton,” Martin Gehres, an assistant city attorney told The Dayton Daily News.
The government site says the city has convened a committee on safety and emergency preparedness, and launched a series of trainings for municipal employees to become familiar with the National Incident Management and Incident Command systems. Senior city employees are receiving more advanced NIMS/ICS training.
On the day of the event, Dayton police are asking for community support.
“If you witness someone in need of medical attention, serious injury, or a life-threatening emergency, please call 911,” the government website reads. “If you see something that looks suspicious, contact 333-COPS or 225-HELP.” Both are non-emergency numbers to Regional Dispatch.
Marshall Weiss, editor and publisher of the Dayton Jewish Observer, told The Jerusalem Post that the police have not shared specifics about their plans “because they are trying to protect their security tactics.”
He noted that these rallies are uncommon in Ohio. The last time such an event took place in Courthouse Square was in 1994. There was a similar rally in Cincinnati in the late 1990s.
“We are legally obligated to provide access to public spaces where individuals can exercise their freedom of speech and right to assemble,” Montgomery County administrator Michael Colbert told The Dayton Daily News.
Ballaban told the Post that there have been “a wide-range of emotional responses” to the upcoming rally by the Jewish community.
“I know people who are very nervous,” he said, “but the bulk of the community fits into the [category] of having an awareness of safety concerns, but not so afraid that they are going to go into hiding for the weekend.”
The Dayton Jewish community numbers around 5,000 people, according to the Jewish Virtual Library. It has several congregations.
Ballaban said that the JCRC has been in close contact with a variety of local security organizations since it became understood that the KKK would protest. Furthermore, he said that one of the lessons the Jewish community has learned from recent, tragic incidents – like the Tree of Life massacre in Pittsburgh and the shooting attack at a Chabad synagogue in Poway – is that “The key to staying safe is being prepared.”
“We worked with the Anti-Defamation League, who helped to organize us with higher-level law enforcement organizations,” Ballaban explained. “But none of us are fortune tellers. Do we know what is going to happen? Certainly not. That is why we are urging people: There is no reason to put yourself in a dangerous position and show up to something that is a powder keg.”
Instead, the JCRC has partnered with the NAACP on a peaceful alternative rally that will be held at Dayton’s McIntosh Park, at the same time at the KKK rally. That event is being coined “Afternoon of Love, Unity, Peace and Inclusion,” and will include food trucks and live music. More than two dozen community organizations have signed on as partners.
Gardner in her statement called on the community to participate to “counter the hate that will no doubt be spewed during the [KKK] rally.”
In addition, the NAACP will host a “cleaning of Courthouse Square” on May 26 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. to “wash away the hate from our city.”
Gardner said the KKK members want to evoke feelings of fear throughout the community; Ballaban agreed.
“The KKK’s intention is to provoke ire in the community,” he said. “The way to counteract that is to come together and show them that this community is more united than the KKK might want to imagine.” He said what will take place at Courthouse Square “does not represent the city.”
“God willing, everyone will be safe,” Ballaban continued, “but I wouldn’t tell my loved ones to be there.”
Related articles
More in this category
OUR SITES אתרי מבט
Poland’s forgotten civil strife and the struggle for Jewish statehood
Menachem Begin in December 1942 wearing the Polish Army uniform of Gen. Anders’ forces with his wife Aliza and David Yutan; (back row) Moshe Stein and Israel Epstein
(photo credit: JABOTINSKY ARCHIVES)
During the inauguration of a memorial to the victims of the Siege of Leningrad in Jerusalem’s Sacher Park on January 24, 2020, before the climax of Holocaust remembrance events at which Russian President Vladimir Putin was given a central platform, we were stunned to hear a rendition of The Blue Kerchief (Siniy
Belgian carnival to double down on antisemitic displays
Giant figures are seen during the 87th carnival parade of Aalst February 15, 2015
The annual carnival in Aalst, Belgium, is expected to take place on Sunday with even more antisemitic elements than in previous years.
Aalst’s organizers have sold hundreds of “rabbi kits” for revelers to dress as hassidic Jews in the carnival’s parade. The kit includes oversized noses, sidelocks (peyot) and black hats. The organizers plan to bring back floats similar to the one displayed in 2019 featuring oversized dolls of Jews, with rats on their shoulders, holding banknotes.
Pope Appears to Give Thumbs Down to Trump’s Mideast Peace Plan
Pope Francis waves as he arrives at the Basilica of Saint Nicholas in the southern Italian coastal city of Bari, Italy February 23, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Remo Casilli.
Pope Francis on Sunday warned against “inequitable solutions” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying they would only be a prelude to new crises, in an apparent reference to US President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace proposal.
Francis made his comments in the southern Italian port city of Bari, where he traveled to conclude a meeting of bishops from all countries in the Mediterranean basin.
Israel, Palestinian Authority Agree to End Trade Dispute: Officials
Palestinians walk past a shop selling fruits in Ramallah, Feb. 20, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Mohamad Torokman.
Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) have reached an agreement to end a five-month long trade dispute, officials said on Thursday.
The dispute, which opened a new front in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, began in September when the PA announced a boycott of Israel calves. The PA exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank under interim peace deals.
Disturbing Images Emerge of Astounding Antisemitism at Belgian Carnival
Antisemitic caricatures on display at the annual carnival in Aalst, Belgium. Photo: Raphael Ahren via Twitter.
Disturbing images emerged on Sunday of the annual carnival at Aalst, Belgium, showing an astounding number of antisemitic themes, costumes, displays and statements.
Israeli journalist Raphael Ahren documented people dressed as caricatures of Orthodox Jews, a fake “wailing wall” attacking critics of the parade, blatantly antisemitic characters and puppets wearing traditional Jewish clothes and sporting huge noses.
News
New column!
KEN COHEN :UN Sinks to a New Low with BDS-Inspired Blacklist
The stench of anti-Semitism always hovers over Switzerland’s Lake Geneva when the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is meeting there. The foul emanations reached a new nadir last week with UNHRC’s publication of a “database” of companies doing business in the disputed territories in Israel.
Following the publication of the list, Bruno Stagno Ugarte, deputy director for advocacy of NGO Human Rights Watch, stated, “The long-awaited release of the U.N. settlement business database should put all companies on notice: To do business with illegal settlements [sic] is to aid in the commission of war crimes.”
David Suissa : Bad Globalism: China Controls our Meds
One of the many things that annoys me about politicians is how sure they are of themselves. Everything is black and white. Every idea is good or bad. Take globalism, for example. You either love it or hate it. It works or it doesn’t.
Another thing that annoys me is how so much of a politician’s life revolves around power: Do everything you can to get it, and everything you can to keep it.
Why am I ranting? Because, while our politicians have been consumed with power and the media with the fights over power, a threat to our nation has been virtually ignored.
Alex Traiman : Challengers Gantz and Lapid Attack Netanyahu-Trump Relationship
Blue and White Party leaders Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid are establishing their diplomatic credentials in the immediate run-up to Israel’s March 2 election with an insult to a U.S. administration that has arguably provided Israel with more diplomatic gains than any previous administration.
The Times of Israel reported that at a campaign stop in front of English-speaking Israelis, Gantz accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “of neglecting bipartisan ties in favor of exclusive support from U.S. President Donald Trump’s Republican Party,” under the headline “Gantz pledges to mend ties with U.S. Democrats if elected.”
CLIFFORD D. MAY : The Return of the Monroe Doctrine
Bipartisanship was in short supply at the State of the Union address earlier this month—with one notable exception.
Nancy Pelosi had been looking dyspeptic, shuffling the papers she would later rip to shreds, when President Donald Trump reminded his audience that “the United States is leading a 59-nation diplomatic coalition against the socialist dictator of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro.”
Suddenly, the House Speaker applauded. Trump then introduced “the true and legitimate president of Venezuela: Juan Guaidó.”
Melanie Phillips : Sanitizing Soros through Guilt by Association
The law professor Alan Dershowitz has thrown a legal hand-grenade into America’s political civil war by claiming to have evidence that former President Barack Obama “personally asked” the FBI to investigate someone “on behalf” of Obama’s “close ally,” billionaire financier George Soros.
He made his cryptic remark in an interview defending U.S. President Donald Trump against claims he interfered in the prosecution of his former adviser, Roger Stone.