Cincinnati rabbi disinvited from anti-Nazi rally for supporting Israel 

Rabbi Ari Jun was eager to take part in a rally against neo-Nazis and white supremacy in Cincinnati, responding immediately when faith leaders were invited to speak. As the former director of the local Jewish community relations council and the newly appointed senior rabbi of a progressive Reform synagogue, Jun has long been engaged in combating antisemitism and advocating for social justice.

However, a week later, he was told he was no longer welcome. The reason: his Zionist beliefs. Laini Smith, one of the rally’s organizers, informed him via text message that “some of your values do not truly align with the values this protest is trying to represent.” Another organizer, Billie Pittman of Queen City United, made it even clearer, stating, “Rabbi Ari Jun is a well-known Zionist, and while this event is intended to oppose Nazis and white supremacy, allowing Zionists to participate undermines the original goal of the demonstration.”

Pittman later announced on Facebook that organizers were working to secure a different Jewish speaker, underscoring the tensions progressive Jewish activists have faced since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, 2023. Many progressive Jews have found themselves increasingly excluded from leftist spaces unless they renounce their support for Israel.

Jun, a graduate of the Reform movement’s Hebrew Union College, has been a vocal critic of Israel’s government and its right-wing U.S. supporters. Despite this, his identification as a Zionist—someone who believes in Israel’s right to exist—has placed him at odds with some progressive activists. He has previously written about the need for Jewish empathy toward Palestinian suffering and criticized U.S. policy toward Gaza. Yet, he has also drawn criticism from non-Jewish progressives, including the Cincinnati Socialists, over his stance on Israel.

Jun’s views align with the American Jewish mainstream. A 2021 Pew Research study found that 80% of U.S. Jews consider caring about Israel an important part of their Jewish identity, while an American Jewish Committee poll last year reported that 85% of U.S. Jews believe American support for Israel is crucial after October 7.

“I would call myself a liberal Zionist,” Jun said. “I am attacked by people to the right of me in the Jewish community for being insufficiently allegiant to Israel, and I am attacked by progressives for having any association with Israel. I don’t consider all anti-Zionism to be antisemitism, but I do know there is a dramatic overlap between the two.”

The rally’s organizers did not publicly announce that Jun had been disinvited, but as word spread, heated debate erupted online, with both critics and defenders of his exclusion flooding the event’s Facebook page with comments.