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Local community leaders and elected officials gathered at Philadelphia City Hall on May 14 for a reception marking Jewish American Heritage Month. (Photo credit: Dinah Bucholz)<\/p>\nLocal community leaders and elected officials gathered at Philadelphia City Hall on May 14 for a reception marking Jewish American Heritage Month. (Photo credit: Dinah Bucholz)<\/p>\n
By Dinah Bucholz<\/p>\n
The Mayor\u2019s Office of Faith-Based Initiatives and the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia hosted their second annual reception marking Jewish American Heritage Month on May 14, celebrating the contributions of Philadelphia\u2019s Jews throughout history.<\/p>\n
Rabbi David Kushner, a founding member of the office who organized the event, said the annual reception reminds civic leaders that Philadelphia\u2019s Jews represent \u201can important and critical demographic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important to remind them that when we walk into a room, we\u2019re not walking in the room as individuals,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re walking in the room representing a vibrant, active community that are productive members of the larger society.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robin Schatz, director of government affairs for the Jewish Federation, also said that \u201chaving so many members of the City Council stop by was really important, because \u2026 they acknowledge us as a vibrant part of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Program<\/p>\n
Schatz bestowed what Kushner dubbed the \u201cPride of the Tribe Award\u201d on Abraham J. Gafni, for dedicating \u201chis life \u2026 to service, to the city of Philadelphia, to the Jewish community, to Israel and to the broader pursuit of justice and civic responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gafni took the podium to a standing ovation. He reflected on his childhood growing up in Brooklyn, New York, in the 1940s, recalling Jackie Robinson\u2019s entry as the first Black man into Major League Baseball. This helped shaped his philosophy that \u201cfighting for equality and fairness \u2026 for [the Black] community was not only critical for them but would also \u2026 redound to the benefit of the Jewish community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier in the afternoon, Kushner kicked off the program with a speech detailing the breadth of Jewish life in Philadelphia throughout its history.<\/p>\n
Noting a table along a wall laid out with bagged challahs, he encouraged the attendees to take one home and to enjoy the kosher food in the next room following the program\u2019s conclusion.<\/p>\n
The program featured speakers who hailed from every stripe of life, including state representatives, rabbis, and Christian and Muslim leaders. Cantor Bradley D. Hyman regaled the audience with \u201cGod Bless America\u201d and a Hebrew song, \u201cOseh Shalom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Attendees Cited Antisemitism as an Important Reason for the Event<\/p>\n
Many of the speakers and attendees mentioned rising antisemitism as a reason for the importance of the gathering.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m almost nostalgic for a time in which these kinds of celebrations were less significant,\u201d Sharif Street, a state senator and devout Muslim, said in his prepared remarks. \u201cLess significant because we could take for granted that everyone recognized the contributions of the Jewish community. Less significant because we could take for granted that everyone will condemn antisemitism.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bishop Wilfred H. Speakes, director of the office, told the audience that \u201cthrough interfaith engagement, we build bridges of understanding that are stronger than fear and louder than hate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rue Landau, noting in her talk that she is the only Jewish City Council member, also decried the normalization of antisemitic speech and behavior.<\/p>\n
\u201cHate speech and actions should have no place in our society, but unfortunately, it\u2019s become more and more common,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Attendees spoke about antisemitism as well. Edward Beck, president emeritus of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, said he is emerging from retirement to fight antisemitism.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody\u2019s on edge\u201d about the threat of antisemitism, he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of opinions in terms of the challenges that we face \u2014 but no one is immune to threats. We\u2019re in the crosshairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
City Commissioner Seth Bluestein said that now, more than ever, events like the annual reception are crucial.<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially this year, with the rise of antisemitism, it\u2019s important that the Philadelphia community come together \u2014 people of all faiths, diverse backgrounds \u2014 to speak up about the heritage of Jewish Americans in Philadelphia \u2026 and to stand up against antisemitism,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Still, They Expressed Hope<\/p>\n
Despite their anxiety about rising threats, everyone who was asked expressed great hope about American Jewry\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
Rabbi David Levin, president of the Philadelphia Board of Rabbis, set the tone with his explanation of the Hebrew word \u201cshalom\u201d in his speech, which he said means not only \u201cpeace\u201d but also \u201cwholeness\u201d and \u201ccompleteness.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are here,\u201d he reminded the audience. \u201cWe are together. Let us begin. Let us not stop until our Philadelphia is whole.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tarik Khan, a state representative, said he was inspired by the rabbi\u2019s speech.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat gives me hope is days like this, where I get to build relationships with people in the Jewish community,\u201d he said. \u201cWe see people from all faiths that are represented here, from all levels of government.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael Balaban, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation, who also spoke at the reception, said that leaders showing up to such a function means a lot.<\/p>\n
\u201cNone of these individuals had to be here,\u201d he told Philadelphia Jewish Exponent. \u201cSo, the fact that they\u2019re willing partners \u2026 that they want a community that rises, that thrives, that\u2019s safe for all of us \u2014 that gives me hope.\u201d<\/p>\n
A final message came from Jessica Shapiro, an associate deputy mayor in Mayor Cherelle Parker\u2019s administration who also delivered remarks. The mayor canceled her appearance due to a scheduling conflict.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy gosh, be kind to one another and learn and ask questions,\u201d she said, responding to a follow-up question. \u201cHave discussions. Have dialogue. We don\u2019t all have to love each other, but we have to respect each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dinah Bucholz is a freelance writer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Local community leaders and elected officials gathered at Philadelphia City Hall on May 14 for a reception marking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":193391,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[86113,86114,86115,12385,86116,69,71,70],"class_list":["post-193390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-abraham-j-gafni","tag-david-kushner","tag-jewish-american-heritage-month","tag-jewish-federation-of-greater-philadelphia","tag-michael-balaban","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=193390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193390\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/193391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=193390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=193390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=193390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}