Speech clashes with group \’tolerance\’

BARRY COHEN
Community Editor
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A conflict may be brewing in the City of Scottsdale between the public library\’s interest to protect freedom of speech and the Office of Diversity and Dialogue\’s mission to promote religious tolerance.
The issue stems from a talk June 19 titled “Crossing the River…from Judaism to Christianity,” sponsored by “We Hold These Truths,” featuring guest speaker Cesar Aharon.
Some 60 people attended the talk, held in the auditorium of the Scottsdale Civic Center Library.
Aharon said he was born in Mexico City and raised as a Jew, but became a “Jewish-Christian” in 1998 when presented with “irrefutable evidence” by a Messianic Jew, an individual who describes himself as a Jew who has accepted Jesus as a personal savior.
Aharon claimed that many Jewish traditions are “anti-Christian.” He alleged that the Seven Noahide Laws, which according to Jewish tradition are the ethical foundation for non-Jews, are “part of a rabbinic invention to control Christians,” and that the “Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion,” an anti-Semitic forgery purporting a Jewish conspiracy for world domination, “speaks elements of truth.” He outlined what he said were steps to “convert knowledgeable Jews to Christianity.”
Throughout the presentation, the audience remained mostly silent, not questioning or challenging Aharon\’s message. It was not apparent that any Scottsdale city official was present.
“The city has an obligation to monitor its facilities,” said Rabbi Robert Kravitz, area director of the American Jewish Committee. He wondered whether the City of Scottsdale, which has a policy of inclusion, is aware of what is going on in its public buildings.
“Our bias is to respect each other\’s differences and value these differences,” said Don Logan, director of the Scottsdale Office of Diversity and Dialogue. City officials might need to screen groups that are not conducive to this vision when they request use of city space, he added.
“We may need to make some adjustments,” said Logan. However, he acknowledged that the city is bound by First Amendment constraints.
“According to the city attorney, we have to be open to anyone who paid for the use of the room,” said Judy Register, director of the Scottsdale Public Library System. “We do not discriminate in any way” concerning content.
“It is perfectly appropriate to express unpopular information in public places,” said Eleanor Eisenberg, executive director of the Arizona Civil Liberties Union. Public forums are open to all kinds of speakers, she added, and “there is no more appropriate public forum than a library. Public libraries are the keepers of free speech in a very real sense.”
“At the root of the organization of communities is the general belief and expectation of justice, respect and the value of diversity,” said Dick Bowers, Scottsdale City Manager.
Bowers said the City of Scottsdale may revisit the details of rental agreements, in order to set up criteria protecting the core values the city represents while not constraining free speech protected by law.
In his presentation, Aharon stated that the Seven Noahide laws are part of a “conspiracy” by the Jewish people to “control” Christians.
“Yes, there is a movement going towards there … there is a plot against Christianity, to destroy Christianity in America. And if you call me an anti-Semite, fine,” he said.
Aharon implored his listeners to “convert knowledgeable Jews to Christianity. … We have the opportunities to share Jesus with Jews and non-Jews.”
“Approaching Jews with love no longer works,” he said. “Instead, Christians need to know their culture and traditions. … We need to think as Jews. … We need to know how to deal with them.”
Kravitz said he supports the First Amendment\’s free speech protections but is concerned about instances when free speech becomes hate speech, which he defined as a “deprecating or pejorative way of speaking of a person or a group based upon who they are or (are) perceived to be.”
Logan explained that the Office of Dialogue and Diversity does not support divisive programs intolerant of religion.
“Our mission is to strengthen the community with many faces and voices but (with) one spirit,” he added.
We Hold These Truths, according to a pamphlet its supporters handed out at the event has “set as (a) standard the Lord Jesus Christ, as did (the) Forefathers.”
The group\’s pamphlet lists a Scottsdale address.