Kehlani walking on the red carpet during the 67th Grammy Awards held at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA on Feb. 2, 2025. Photo: Elyse Jankowski/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

All of the Jewish organizations and synagogues that were set to participate in this year’s Pride Festival in San Diego announced on Friday their decision to withdraw from the event due to “serious safety concerns” surrounding the headlining performance by anti-Israel R&B singer Kehlani.

Eight San Diego-based Jewish groups and synagogues, including the Jewish Federation of San Diego and Anti-Defamation League of San Diego, said they made the decision after organizers of the festival refused to cancel Kehlani’s performance and ignored concerns about what they described as the singer’s antisemitic behavior.

“In light of San Diego Pride’s decision to allow musical artist Kehlani to remain a headliner at this year’s Pride Festival despite Kehlani’s repeated amplification of violent antisemitic rhetoric, all participating Jewish organizations and synagogues — many of which have marched with, volunteered for, or supported Pride for years — will be withdrawing from the 2025 event due to serious safety concerns,” the Jewish groups and synagogues announced in a joint statement.

San Diego Pride is set to take place July 19-20 at Marston Point in Balboa Park. Last month, nearly three dozen Jewish organizations released a statement urging festival organizers to reconsider having Kehlani perform at the event. The Jewish groups that released a statement on Friday said last month’s appeal “has thus far gone unanswered, and as a result, there will be no organized Jewish presence at San Diego Pride this year.”

Kehlani has been highly critical of Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip during the Israel-Hamas war. She has accused Israel of genocide and shared a number of anti-Israel and anti-Zionist posts on social media. In one Instagram post, she wrote: “Dismantle Israel. Eradicate Zionism.” She also posted an image that called for Israel to be removed off the map and replaced with “Palestine.” Last year, she shared the message “Long Live the Intifada,” a phrase that invokes violence against Israel and the Jewish community, in the opening of a music video for “Next 2 U.”

Kehlani has also criticized other artists for staying silent about Israel’s military actions in the war. In a video on X, she said, “It’s f—k Israel, it’s f—k Zionism, and it’s also f—k a lot of y;all too.”

The eight Jewish groups and synagogues that released the joint statement on Friday said Kehlani’s antisemitic and anti-Israel messages are not only “dehumanizing,” but “history has shown that when they are normalized and platformed, they can lead to real-world violence against Jews.”

They referenced the two recent terrorist attacks in Boulder, Colorado, and Washington, DC, and noted that the assailants behind both incidents shared “hateful rhetoric” similar to what Kehlani has been promoting. They added that the two attacks “have intensified fears among Jewish San Diegans, underscoring the dangerous consequences of unchecked antisemitism in public spaces.”

“As a queer, a Jew, a Zionist and as someone who is horrified at the suffering in Gaza, I will not be participating in Pride this year — and neither should any organization that claims to be inclusive and strives to be a safe place for all,” said Laura Stratton, a member of Temple Emanu-El of San Diego and the LGBTQ+ community who has been attending and volunteering for Pride festivals in San Diego and other cities for more than 35 years.

The festival’s volunteer director of medical operations and assistant director of medical operations, Dr. Jennifer Anger and Eliyahu Cohen-Mizrahi, respectively, have also withdrawn their involvement in the festival due to Kehlani’s scheduled performance.

“My role at Pride has always been to ensure the health and safety of everyone attending, but as a Jewish San Diegan, I can no longer ignore the very real risks that come with normalizing hate speech like the kind Kehlani has promoted,” said Anger, who has volunteered as a medical director for the festival for the last two years.

“It’s heartbreaking to step away from an event I’ve supported for years, but when the Jewish community’s safety is treated as negotiable, we’re left with no choice. Pride should be a place of healing and inclusion — not one that turns its back on a community in pain.”

Kehlani was set to perform at a concert in New York City later this month, but it was canceled in May after organizers faced pressure from New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other pro-Israel supporters because of the singer’s actions targeting the Jewish community. The cancellation was announced shortly after Cornell University’s decision to also cancel a performance by Kehlani.

In their joint statement on Friday, the San Diego-based Jewish groups and synagogues said San Diego Pride organizers “still has the chance to course correct and restore Pride as a space where all communities feel genuinely included and safe” by disinviting Kehlani from the event.

“Jewish groups continue to urge San Diego Pride organizers to reflect on the message being sent by continuing to feature Kehlani — and whether safety and equal rights can truly be hallmarks of this event under the present circumstances,” they said.

The statement came out as a new report by the nonprofit A Wider Bridge detailed how anti-Israel activists in the LGBTQ+ community are subjecting Zionist Jews to extreme levels of discrimination, including expulsions from major progressive groups and even physical assault.

“Now more than ever, Pride should be a celebration of inclusion and solidarity, not a platform for divisive voices that incite hatred and violence,” said Heidi Gantwerk, president and CEO of Jewish Federation of San Diego County. “As we’ve seen in DC and Boulder, when antisemitism is ignored or tolerated, it fuels a culture that leads to violence. We cannot wait for tragedy to strike our own community — again — before we act.”

On the red carpet at the American Music Awards in late May, Kehlani talked to Variety about why she feels the need to be outspoken about Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and concluded her remarks by saying, “Free Palestine.”

“It shouldn’t be a hard thing … It should be second nature if people are being blown up and being murdered at mass rates. It should be as easy as breathing to just say, ‘Hey, I don’t really think this should be happening. Maybe we should stop.’ And we’re funding it,” she said. “All I can say is, Free Palestine.”

Kehlani claimed that she is not antisemitic in an Instagram video uploaded in late April. “I am not antisemitic, nor anti-Jew. I am anti-genocide. I am anti-the actions of the Israeli government,” she stated in the video. “I am anti-the extermination of an entire people, I am anti-the bombing of innocent children, men [and] women. That’s what I’m anti.”

The post All Jewish Groups, Synagogues Withdraw From San Diego Pride Festival Due to Kehlani Performance first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

(From left) IFF Founder and Executive Director Meir Feningstein, IFF honoree Debra Messing, and Jonah Platt. Photo: Michelle Mivzari

Jewish Emmy and SAG Award-winning actress Debra Messing was honored at a luncheon in Beverly Hills, Calif., leading up to the start of the 37th Israel Film Festival (IFF) in Los Angeles.

Messing — who is also a human rights activist and the executive producer of the documentary “October 8” about the rise of antisemitism on college campuses – received the 2025 IFF Achievement in Film and Television Award at the event on June 6. The award was presented to her by Jewish podcaster and actor Jonah Platt.

“I have always believed that storytelling is the most powerful tool we have to reveal humanity in all its shapes, and facets; to inspire empathy, to illuminate truths and to give voice to those who’s peoplehood and cultures have been ignored,” the former “Will & Grace” star said upon accepting her award. “That is the beauty of film and television. Stories help us remember our shared humanity.”

“They challenge prejudice, bridge divides, and preserve culture,” she added. “They show us what’s possible. And that is what the Israel Film Festival has done for nearly four decades. Especially now, when so many Israeli films are being denied entry into festivals or pulled from platforms — it’s more vital than ever that we support Israeli filmmakers; that we watch their work and help amplify their art. Because they are telling stories that matter. Stories of resilience, innovation, survival, family, and identity. These stories are a potent way to help dismantle the virulent Jew hatred, and erasure of Israel’s sovereignty.”

Those in attendance at the luncheon included Yehuda and Yotam Cohen, the father and brother of Hamas hostage Nimrod Cohen, who has been held captive for over 600 days. They addressed the audience and called for the immediate release of all hostages abducted by Hamas-led terrorists during their deadly rampage across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Also at the luncheon, Rabbi Marvin Hier — founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, its Museum of Tolerance, and Moriah Films — received the 2025 IFF Humanitarian Award. Film producer Brad Krevoy presented the award to Hier, who is also the recipient of two Academy Awards.

“I believe the role of film in shaping our values and future will only grow,” Hier said in his acceptance speech. “Your work has never been as important and necessary as it is today, at a time when our world needs more guidance than ever. As our sages teach us, the Heavens belong to God, but the earth was given to man, it is up to us to tell our story to secure our destiny, to confront the bigots and haters! As long as we continue to do that, Netzach Yisrael Lo Yeshaker. The eternity of Israel will never be forsaken. Am Yisrael Chai! [Long live Israel].”

The luncheon took place at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills and Beverly Hills Mayor Sharona R. Nazarian issued a proclamation to Meir Fenigstein, founder and executive director of the Israeli Film Festival.

“I am very proud that no matter what is happening in the world and in Israel we are producing this event year after year,” said Fenigstein. “I feel it’s my mission to bring us all together and celebrate films, each other and the Jewish contribution to cinema. This has been a challenging time for all of us since Oct. 7 as cultural events like these are facing boycotts worldwide. This is not just an entertainment event. This festival shows our contributions to the arts, society, and humanity.”

The 37th Israel Film Festival in Los Angeles will take place from Nov. 5–20. It will highlight Israel’s film and television industry, and provides opportunities for cooperation, distribution, and co-production between American and Israeli film and television industries.

The post Debra Messing at Israel Film Festival Event Discusses ‘Dismantling Virulent Jew Hatred’ Through Film first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee looks on during the day he visits the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said he did not think that an independent Palestinian state remains a goal of US foreign policy, according to an interview with Bloomberg News released on Tuesday.

“I don’t think so,” Huckabee said when asked if a Palestinian state remains a goal of US policy.

Asked whether Huckabee’s remarks represented a change in US policy, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce declined to comment, saying policymaking was a matter for President Donald Trump and the White House.

“I’m not going to characterize the ambassador’s remarks. I’m not going to explain them or really comment on them at all. I think he certainly speaks for himself,” Bruce told a regular press briefing.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Huckabee’s remarks.

Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, is a staunch pro-Israel conservative picked by Trump to be his envoy to Israel.

“Unless there are some significant things that happen that change the culture, there’s no room for it,” Huckabee was quoted as saying. Those probably won’t happen “in our lifetime,” he told the news agency.

Trump, in his first term, was relatively tepid in his approach to a two-state solution, a longtime pillar of US Middle East policy, and he has given little sign of where he stands on the issue in his second term.

Huckabee suggested a piece of land could be carved out of a Muslim country rather than asking Israel to make room. “Does it have to be in Judea and Samaria?” Huckabee said, using the biblical name the Israeli government favors for the West Bank.

An evangelical Christian, Huckabee has been a vocal supporter of Israel throughout his political career and a longtime defender of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Trump has pursued strongly pro-Israel policies as president and his choice of Huckabee as ambassador signaled that they would continue.

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