After the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by federal immigration agents and amid aggressive Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations across the country, many people are struggling to process what’s happening. In Cincinnati, rabbis from numerous congregations felt compelled to offer help.
“A lot of people have had questions throughout the community of what do we need to know, how can we be involved if we’re not even sure what’s happening?” said Rabbi Scott Shafrin.
Here in Cincinnati, several synagogues, including Temple Sholom, Wise Temple, Rockdale, Adath Israel, Valley Temple, Beth Adam, and Northern Hills, banded together to host an educational event, Don’t Stand Idly, to address community members’ questions. The event is on February 15 at Adath Israel.
For Rabbi Shafrin, a key to the educational event is enacting Jewish values as Americans.
“[The event is] shining a spotlight on the things that are happening in our country that we see as not in accordance with the laws of our country or the spirit of our country, but also not in accordance with our understanding of Torah and Jewish values,” he said.
The event will feature a panel discussion with Congressman Greg Landsman, Holocaust and genocide scholar Dr. Sarah Crane, and immigration attorney and expert Nazly Mamedova.
For Rabbi Ari Jun, it isn’t just an education event; it is also a call to action.
“After the event is over, people present can start networking and organizing right there,” said Rabbi Jun.
Holding the event this month is even more timely for communities in Ohio. As protests continue in Minneapolis, federal officials have begun focusing on vulnerable communities in Cincinnati and the surrounding areas, including the Haitian community in Springfield, OH.
“The Torah specifically has a lot to say about how we treat people in general, but specifically how we treat the most vulnerable,” said Rabbi Shafrin.
The Haitian community was targeted by the Trump campaign during the 2024 election cycle when President Trump repeated false claims that the refugee community was eating people’s pets. A falsehood repeated by Vice President J.D. Vance
Trump’s order that the Temporary Protective Status of over nearly 350,000 Haitians was blocked by a federal Judge.
Jun said there will be additional representatives from immigrant rights groups available to offer attendees advice and opportunities to act after the event. Including Compass Cincinnati, Ignite Peace, and the Ohio Immigrant Alliance.
One outcome Jun hopes for from the gathering is for the Jewish community to get organized.
“We have some pretty big pockets of immigrant communities in Cincinnati,” said Jun. “I think we need to get ready [to act when ICE raids come].”
Anti-immigrant sentiment and antisemitism often rise together, in part because of the “Great Replacement” theory. The antisemitic conspiracy theory falsely claims that Jews are deliberately bringing immigrants into Western countries to displace white populations.
The theory has evolved and is often used in far-right talking points, but replacing Jews with liberals or democrats. The theory has been promoted publicly, including by now-Vice President J.D. Vance, who repeated it on X (formerly Twitter).
The conspiracy theory also inspired the shooter in the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh in 2018. That is still the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history.
Both Jun and Shafrin believe this is not just the time for Jewish institutional leadership, but religious and moral leadership. Calling on a history of Jewish groups standing up for civil causes in the United States.
“A phrase that appears just over and over again all throughout Torah, from really Exodus through the end of Deuteronomy, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger,” said Rabbi Shafrin. “Treat the stranger, the widow, and the orphan kindly, because God hears the voices of the strangers and widows and orphans when they cry out, and God will surely turn against you if you do not lift them up.”
Don’t Stand Idly is on February 15, at Adath Israel. Registration is Required. You can register for the Event Here.
