Jewish organizations drop out of San Diego Pride
SAN DIEGO (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Several Jewish organizations have announced they are dropping out of San Diego Pride due to the event's inclusion of Kehlani, an artist they claim has made anti-Semitic comments.
The Pride Parade draws hundreds of thousands each year. While it is a celebration of LGBTQ+ culture, the intention is to include everyone.
"They don't feel safe. It is a terrible loss they want to be there," said Heidi Gantwerk, President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of San Diego
Gantwerk says all 31 of the city's Jewish organizations are pulling their support from this year's July Pride Parade.
"These are groups who want to be at Pride. These organizations, many of them have marched at Pride for decades," Gantwerk expressed.
The Jewish Federation says it's because popular singer Kehlani is headlining Pride Week's entertainment.
Perhaps second only to her talent are the controversial remarks, Kehlani makes at concerts and on social media about the war in Gaza. The Jewish Federation says it's not protected speech that its hate speech and anti-Semitic.
The organization took screenshots of posts from Kehlani's social media pages. One of them says, "Dismantle Israel. Eradicate Zionism."
Gantwerk says Kehlani has been denied singing opportunities because of her rhetoric at Pride events in San Francisco, New York, Cornell and New York Universities.
"San Diego should not be the only city to platform this artist who is spouting hate speech," Gantwerk remarked.
The San Diego Pride Board of Directors issued the following statement:
"We respect our local Jewish community's decision not to participate in San Diego Pride's programming this year. Each member of our community must make their own decision about attending this year's events, but we hope everyone will come out as a sign of solidarity for our queer community.
San Diego Pride does not endorse or adopt the political positions of any individual performer. Rather, we honor the value of artistic integrity, the importance of free expression, and the role that artists play in shaping culture, challenging systems, and amplifying voices while respecting each other's differences."
"This place is a gigantic melting pot and everyone is accepted here," said Triston Adler, a parade volunteer.
For the last eight year, Adler has worked on parade floats for the well-known nightclub Rich's. He is part of the LGBTQ+ community and the Jewish community.
"I don't want to feel like members of our community are isolated because of one artist that wants to sing here, especially when the Pride Parade is supposed to be about inclusion," Adler shared.
Pride Week is still more than a month away.
Gantwerk says despite the pleading of the Jewish Federation so far, the show will go on.
The San Diego Pride Festival is scheduled for July 16 through the 20.
