02/24/2022
Horn, Bickart to Discuss Antisemitism at Federation CRC Meeting
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COURTNEY BYRNES | STAFF REPORTER
Article reprinted with permission from Cleveland Jewish News
Horn
The 75th annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s community relations committee will feature author Dara Horn and Noah Bickart in a discussion around antisemitism.
The in-person event on March 8 at Green Road Synagogue in Beachwood will mark the first year the meeting is back in person and will offer a virtual option for those who cannot attend in person.
“We’re excited about the meeting this year, the 75th anniversary of CRC which is wonderful,” Jennifer Tramer, co-chair of the event, told the Cleveland Jewish News Feb. 22. “We thought long and hard about what topics, there is so many relevant and pertinent topics, and we decided on antisemitism. Antisemitism continues to be on the rise so that’s why we thought that (this) could be a good time for us to discuss it and to have some interesting voices that we can listen to and grow from.”
Bickart
Tramer and Kevin Lurie are co-chairs of the event. Horn, author of “People Love Dead Jews: Reports From a Haunted Present,” will join Bickart, a visiting assistant professor of theology and religious studies at John Carroll University in University Heights, to discuss contemporary antisemitism.
“We had a list of people that we know are interested and have done work in this area, and a number of us had read Dara’s book and we know that she is just an incredible person and speaker and thinker. ... and then we were hoping to get a Cleveland tie-in so we looked at some of the local universities and we found Noah Bickart, who is at John Carroll and of course he is going to be a wonderful combination with Dara,” Tramer said.
Lurie
The event is free to attend and attendees can listen to the discussion of Horn and Bickart around antisemitism with an opportunity to ask questions and meet the two speakers.
“In the past there’s been I believe a couple of hundred people attend the event, which was of course in person only,” Tramer said. “So I think that should be maybe doubled with the addition of the virtual option.”
While in-person attendees are asked to be vaccinated and required to wear masks at the event, the virtual option allows people to still participate from afar.
“I think a hybrid model, especially now as we continue to transition and go in and out of protocol, to give people the option to be both in person or to be virtual is a really nice way to go,” Tramer said. “So we’re certainly hoping to get people to come in so we have a nice big group and we are also excited about those who will be able to attend online.”
Tramer
She said the event is going to be “very thought provoking” and help to build strong relationships in the community. As the 75th annual meeting, it is a chance to look back at the past and think about the decades ahead.
“We would like to give anyone that participates another, maybe some practical, approaches to thinking about current antisemitism and how to combat that whenever faced with that,” Tramer said. “So I think that people who attend are going to have a lot to think about, it’s going to be very thought provoking.”
If You Go
WHAT: 75th annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s community relations committee and Sidney Z. Vincent Memorial Lecture, featuring author Dara Horn and Noah Bickart, discussing antisemitism
WHEN: 7-9 p.m. March 9
WHERE: Green Road Synagogue, 2437 S. Green Road, Beachwood, or virtual option
TICKETS: Free, register at jewishcleveland.org
INFO: In-person attendees must be vaccinated and masks will be required
