02/14/2024
Israel Activist Mazzig to Speak at Federation’s CRC Annual Meeting
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Mazzig
COURTNEY BRYNES | CJN
Article reprinted with permission from Cleveland Jewish News
Israeli activist and speaker Hen Mazzig will travel to Cleveland for two days to speak at several events, including the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s community relations committee annual meeting.
The 77th annual meeting and Sidney Z. Vincent Memorial Lecture will be held at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21 at The Temple-Tifereth Israel in Beachwood.
Giardina
“People are really excited about Hen coming to Cleveland,” Miriam Giardina, event co-chair with Rubin Guttman, told the Cleveland Jewish News. “I think there’s been a goal or an interest in having him speak in Cleveland for a while, and so the CRC annual meeting seemed to be a really good opportunity to bring him in.”
Mazzig is a globally recognized speaker, educator, author and social media influencer, and has appeared as an expert on Jewish issues on several media platforms. At the annual meeting, he will discuss the intersectionality of his own personal and political identities as a progressive, LGBTQ, pro-Israel person of color, as well as focus on the rise of antisemitism since Oct. 7, 2023.
“He’s really almost a hero for a lot of the causes that we care about here in North America and Cleveland specifically,” said Giardina, a resident of Cleveland Heights and congregant of Beth El-The Heights Synagogue in Cleveland Heights.
After the Federation hosted former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in November, offering the perspective of the Israeli political right, Giardina said Mazzig will offer the perspective of the Israeli political left.
While in town Feb. 21 and Feb. 22, Mazzig will also be leading two social media labs for students about the rise in online antisemitism, a happy hour for LGBTQ Jewish adults with jHUB and a Ben-Gurion Society dinner.
In addition to Mazzig’s lecture, Susan Borison, CRC chair, will give the annual report of the work the committee has done over the past year. In an election year and since the Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel by Hamas, this report will include work focusing on abortion and voting rights and the switch to advocating with outside communities after Oct. 7, Giardina said.
The event is free to attend. To register, visit bit.ly/4bsuSSF.
If You Go
WHAT: The 77th annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s community relations committee and Sidney Z. Vincent Memorial Lecture, featuring Hen Mazzig
WHERE: The Temple-Tifereth Israel, 26000 Shaker Blvd., Beachwood
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21
INFO: Free to attend. To RSVP, visit bit.ly/4bsuSSF.
