Opposing Nazi hate with love and solidarity

FOR was horrified at the news that members of the Goyim Defense League, an overtly antisemitic hate group, had gathered outside Temple Beth Israel in Macon, Georgia on June 23, 2023. They wore swastikas, yelled “Heil Hitler,” and hung a life-size effigy of an LGBTQ+ Jew from a lamppost.

In response to the convergences of multiple forms of hate, on July 2, 2023, the synagogue hosted an interfaith service in the pursuit of “radical empathy… to show that there are many, many more people who support the Jewish community here and engage with us in a loving way than the very small group of people who have only anger and fear in their hearts.” The event overflowed with over 900 congregants from faith communities in the region.

FOR-USA showed its support for those affected by the grotesque demonstration of hate by gathering messages of solidarity, and was honored to have Palestinian-American Atlanta FOR member Rev. Fahed Abu-Akel deliver the message directly to Rabbi Bahar of the synagogue during the interfaith service. Born in Kafr Yasif, in the Galilee region of what is now Israel, Rev. Abu- Akel was the first Arab-American to lead a major U.S. denomination, serving as Moderator of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A.’s 214th General Assembly. He has received numerous honors for his life- long dedication to interfaith dialogue and international understanding.