January 3, 2017
Letter to the Editor, The Cincinnati Enquirer
On behalf of Cincinnati’s Bridges of Faith Trialogue, I wish to comment on the recent swastika incident at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
The Christian, Jewish and Muslim members of the Trialogue condemn this despicable act of defilement of one of our community’s iconic institutions and all that it stands for. This abhorrent example, coming barely a month after this same offensive symbol defaced the wall of the vandalized apartment of an interracial couple in Price Hill, is troubling evidence of the re-emergence of overt racism and religious bigotry sweeping the country since the Presidential election. Data collected by the FBI and the Southern Poverty Law Center confirm a spike in hate crimes since November 8th.
Cincinnati is a community fortunate to have relatively few hate crimes, even though any is too many. We take pride in our efforts to achieve an inclusive, equitable and just community for all who live and work here. While we are not yet there, we have made progress on many fronts and what we don’t want is for these advancements to be reversed by a backlash from bigots.
We must take these acts of hatred seriously, be vigilant, and stand firm and together against them.