Just days after a young couple—one Jewish, the other Israeli-German—were tragically murdered outside the Jewish Museum in Washington D.C., ( May 21 ), Allegheny County councilperson, at large, Bethany Hallam reposted an inflammatory social media post questioning whether people should remain civil toward “Zionists.”
Let’s be unequivocally clear: for the vast majority of Jews, Zionism (the belief in Jewish self-determination in our ancestral homeland) is a fundamental aspect of our identity. This kind of rhetoric doesn’t foster constructive debate; it actively dehumanizes, isolates, and incites hatred against Jewish people. When such dangerous sentiments come from a public official, it is profoundly reckless and a threat to our community’s safety.
This isn’t an isolated incident for Councilperson Hallam. Following the October 7th attacks, she shared a video celebrating Hamas’s brutal acts of terror against Israel—demonstrating a pattern of inflammatory and dangerous rhetoric on her platform.
It is crucial that elected officials and concerned members of the community speak up against this blatant display of antisemitism. Antisemitism in all its forms must be confronted—especially when it comes from those in positions of power and influence, and particularly now, as antisemitic incidents continue to surge.
Read more in the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle HERE
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