Over 100 Columbus-area Jews criticize JewishColumbus in open letter, call for ceasefire

When Columbus City Council passed a resolution in late March condemning ongoing violence in Gaza and calling for an "end to hostilities" and release of hostages, JewishColumbus objected.

The region's largest and most influential Jewish advocacy organization said that while it supports peace in the region, simply calling for it was, and is, an oversimplification.

"We support peace," JewishColumbus President and CEO Julie Tilson Stanley said at the time. But, she noted that Hamas has attacked Israelis for more than 15 years, causing "significant exacerbation of the situation."

"The fighting could halt immediately if Hamas would agree," but simply calling for peace doesn't achieve it, she said.

Now, a group of Columbus Jews is criticizing the organization, stating that JewishColumbus doesn't speak for all Jews and should embrace differing opinions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

As the latest ceasefire talks crumble, over 100 Columbus-area Jews distance themselves from official group's stance

The controversy comes amid ongoing attempts for peace. On Tuesday, leaders of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that attacked Israeli settlements Oct. 7, killing more than 1,160 mostly civilians, announced it accepted a ceasefire proposal mediated by Egypt and Qatar.

Israel later rejected the proposal, saying it didn't meet its core demands. Both sides have said they would continue discussing options.

In an open letter last week, signed by more than 100 Columbus-area Jews, the group said that JewishColumbus tries to "minimize differing perspectives through their claims that all Jewish Central Ohioans share one opinion on ceasefire in Gaza. The ongoing misrepresentation of the Central Ohio Jewish community as a unilateral body has caused harm within our community, as well as to our relationship with the Central Ohio Muslim community."

Others would have signed the letter but didn't, the authors' state, because they feared retaliation within the community.

Open letter accuses JewishColumbus of not accepting dissent, opposing viewpoints, which the group disputes

The letter states that many "believe in the humanity of all people: including, but not limited to, Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, and our Muslim and Arab neighbors in Central Ohio. We disagree with JewishColumbus’ advocacy against ceasefire in Gaza, as well as their claims to unilaterally speak for the Central Ohio Jewish community."

Shayna Solomon, one of the organizers of the letter campaign, considers herself very religious but also someone who questions things, even in her own synagogue.

JewishColumbus, she said, has a very narrow view of what is tolerable in Israel, and "is acting like there is no dissent or difference of opinion, and that the entire Jewish community is behind the actions that Israel is taking."

Her upbringing helped form her view of the world and peace, she said. "And my values value human life." She said that JewishColumbus views toward suspending "proportionality" of military response and objecting to a ceasefire "terrified members of our Jewish community."

"The blatant dismissal of this core human rights principle seemed to justify any level of human rights violation, up to killing the entire Gazan population in retribution for the October 7 attacks," she wrote in a statement accompanying the letter.

Repeated requests by The Dispatch to interview Stanley or other leaders of JewishColumbus were not returned.

On Tuesday afternoon, Stanley released this statement: “We recognize and appreciate that the perspectives and opinions of our community are vast and diverse. JewishColumbus proudly believes in peace, Israel’s right to exist and to defend itself. We welcome all voices to publicly share their viewpoints.”

The open letter group earlier Tuesday said that JewishColumbus had agreed to meet with them next week to discuss their views on Israeli peace and the role of local religious groups.

Others, including family of Holocaust survivor, support ceasefire

Another supporter of ceasefire attempts is Debra Seltzer, a member of Sukkat Shalom synagogue in Clintonville.

In a written statement, she explained: "We heard that JewishColumbus was mobilizing people to say that the Jewish community was against the ceasefire resolution. They were trying to speak for us to our representatives, but they didn’t represent our views, so we knew we had to speak up.”

Being singled out by neighbors, businesses or employers for speaking out is "not the Jewish community I want to live in," she said.

Said Aly Stein, another who signed the letter: “My grandfather was a Holocaust survivor who taught me that never again means never again for anyone, everywhere."

"The collective punishment that Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank have been subjected to since 1948 was ratcheted up to an unbearable level in the aftermath of October 7."

dnarciso@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus-area Jews criticize JewishColumbus, call for ceasefire