JUF NEWS
June 26, 2015

A group of Chicago Jewish community professionals met with counterparts at the [Chicago-based] Niagara Foundation Thursday, following that organization’s cancellation of a scheduled appearance by Roey Gilad, Consul General of Israel to the Midwest. The group, which included representatives of the American Jewish Committee, Chicago Board of Rabbis, Jewish Community Relations Council, and Jewish United Fund, sought clarification of Niagara’s reason for the cancellation. In a statement, Niagara – a Midwest organization that describes itself as bringing together people to celebrate diversity in a shared society – said it had cancelled the event because it determined that it was ill-suited to the organization’s “stated mission of fostering positive interfaith dialogue in an apolitical environment free from contentiousness.”

This fear of contentiousness was due to threats of disruption by extreme anti-Israel groups, which oppose “normalization” with Israel and seek to de-legitimize the Jewish state. In light of this, the representatives of the Jewish organizations have issued an open letter asking Niagara to reaffirm its mission of dialog and inclusion, as well as its longstanding resistance to those who seek to undermine Niagara’s relationship with Israelis and the mainstream Jewish community. READ MORE