Hanukkah benefit concert for Jewish LGBTQ youth organization faces death threats
A concert being organized and staged by a LGBTQ Jewish organization this weekend is going to have heavy security measures in place due to threats being made against it.
The lead singer for the band featured in the concert has already received phone calls threatening them, with one suggesting death for any participants in the event. Still, everyone involved is hoping to make sure their community knows, “Your Whole Self Belongs.”
Jewish Queer Youth (JQY) is holding their fourth annual Chanukah Concert tomorrow at a synagogue in New York City. Out lesbian comedian Leah Forster is hosting the benefit gathering, with the band Shlock Rock headlining a number of performers during the night.
However, the Jerusalem Post reports that in addition to usual antisemitic harassment, threats are being made against the concert by anti-LGBTQ extremists.
Shlock Rock’s lead singer Lenny Solomon received a phone call from someone deriding the concert, saying “On Hanukkah we celebrate the Chashmonayim (Hasmoneans) killing people at events like this,” and Hasmoneans would “do the same thing” this weekend.
more...