[Call to Order]
          [00:00:12]
          GOOD AFTERNOON. GOOD AFTERNOON. THIS IS THE EQUITY, COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, HEALTH, HOUSING AND EDUCATION COMMITTEE. I AM THE CHAIR. COUNCILWOMAN BARBARA SHANKLIN. WITH ME, VICE CHAIR, 
          [Roll Call]
COUNCILMAN STUART BENSON. HERE, COUNCILWOMAN TAMMY HOPKINS, OUT IN THE HALL. COUNCILMAN. SAM, COUNCILMAN MARKUS WINKLER AND COUNCILWOMAN JENNY. MOVIES. OKAY. WE HAVE ONE SPECIAL DISCUSSION TODAY, AND HE IS ALREADY HERE. YOU WANT TO COME UP AND WE'LL GET STARTED AND SAY YOUR NAME. AND THE CLERK, YOUR NAME AND YOUR TOPIC, PLEASE. SHOULD THIS. OKAY. OKAY. LIGHT'S 
          [1.
 ID 25-0122     ANTI-SEMITISM IN THE COMMONWEALTH – Rabbi Shlomo Litvin, Kentucky Jewish Council]
NOT ON, BUT IT'S ON. MY NAME IS RABBI LITVIN, AND I'M THE CHAIRMAN OF THE JEWISH COUNCIL. 
          AND I'M HERE TODAY TO SPEAK ABOUT THE JEWISH COUNCIL'S ANTI-SEMITISM REPORT FOR 2024, SPECIFICALLY AS IT APPLIES SO YL HAVE A COPY OF THE REPORT IN FRONT OF YOU, AND THERE'S ONE ON THE BIG SCREEN. BUT A REPORT BEGINS WITH A DEFINITION OF THE TERM ANTI-SEMITISM, BECAUSE IT'S ONE THAT CONFUSES PEOPLE. IT WASN'T ONE INVENTED BY JEWS, BUT RATHER BY THOSE WHO HATED JEWS. 
          TO CREATE A SCIENTIFIC TERM FOR JUDENHASS, WHICH LITERALLY MEANS JEW HATRED. AND WILLIAM MARR CHOSE THE TERM ANTI-SEMITISM. SEMITE IS A LANGUAGE GROUP WHICH INCLUDES ISRAEL AS WELL AS SURROUNDING COUNTRIES, AND HE CHOSE THAT AS A SCIENTIFIC TERM. IT INCLUDES CALLING FOR AIDING AND JUSTIFYING THE KILLING AND HARMING OF JEWS, AS WELL AS THE HUMANIZING AND DEMONIZING STEREOTYPES. IN 2021, KENTUCKY BECAME THE FIRST STATE TO ADOPT THE IHRA DEFINITION OF ANTI-SEMITISM, WHICH IS THE JEWISH COMMUNITY'S ACCEPTED DEFINITION OF WHAT ANTI-SEMITISM LOOKS LIKE, AND HAS SINCE BEEN FOLLOWED BY MORE THAN 20 OTHER STATES. SIR, DID YOU DID YOU GIVE THAT PAPER OUT? I'M SORRY. OKAY. THANK YOU. SO UNFORTUNATELY, SINCE OCTOBER 7TH IN 2023, WE HAVE SEEN A HUGE RISE IN ANTI-SEMITISM, BOTH INTERNATIONALLY, NATIONALLY AND IN THE COMMONWEALTH. AND WE HAVE SOME EXAMPLES IN OUR INTRO OF INCIDENTS THAT WENT AROUND THE WORLD. JUST THIS WEEK, WE HAD A JUST THIS SATURDAY, WE HAD A SPEAKER HERE IN LOUISVILLE WHO SURVIVED THE OCTOBER 7TH MASSACRE AT THE NOVA MUSIC FESTIVAL. AND THEN, TRYING TO LOWER HIS STRESS, WENT TO A SOCCER GAME IN AMSTERDAM AND SURVIVED THE MOST VICIOUS POGROM IN EUROPE IN THE LAST 70 YEARS. AS JEWS WHO ATTENDED A SOCCER GAME IN AMSTERDAM WERE HUNTED DOWN, GOING TO THE REPORT ITSELF. AND I'M GOING TO SPEAK SPECIFICALLY ON THE ISSUES THAT WE HAD HERE IN LOUISVILLE. THE YEAR BEGAN ON THE 16TH OF JANUARY, WITH A LOUISVILLE SYNAGOGUE RECEIVING A MESSAGE THREATENING MESSAGE INTENDED TO DISRUPT SERVICES AND CAUSE PANIC. IT'S WORTH NOTING THAT OVER 2024, THERE IS NOT A SINGLE SYNAGOGUE IN LOUISVILLE THAT DID NOT RECEIVE A THREAT OF SOME KIND. IN FEBRUARY, THE COURIER JOURNAL PRINTED AN OP ED THAT CALLED FOR LESS EFFORTS TO COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM, AND ON THE EIGHTH, AGAIN, A SEPARATE LOUISVILLE SYNAGOGUE WAS THREATENED WITH A DEATH THREAT. ON THE 15TH, A PFLP POPULAR FRONT FOR THE LIBERATION OF PALESTINE, WHICH IS A REGISTERED TERRORIST GROUP BY THE US STATE DEPARTMENT, HAD A FUNDRAISING EVENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE THAT IS A CRIME AS WELL AS INTENDED TO INTIMIDATE JEWISH STUDENTS. IN MARCH, AN ANTI-SEMITIC CARTOON WAS PUBLISHED BY A UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE PROFESSOR IN THE COURIER JOURNAL, AND ON THE SAME DAY, ANTISEMITIC FLIERS WERE LEFT ON HOMES IN A LOUISVILLE NEIGHBORHOOD, AS WELL AS HARASSING PEDESTRIANS ON THE STREET. ON THE 14TH, I BELIEVE ALL OF YOU ARE. MOST OF YOU WERE HERE WHEN A LOUISVILLE CITY COUNCIL METRO COUNCIL MEETING WAS DISRUPTED DURING A CONSIDERATION OF A PRO HAMAS RESOLUTION, INCLUDING THREATS AGAINST MEMBERS OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY WHO ARE IN THIS ROOM, MYSELF INCLUDED. I WAS SPECIFICALLY STANDING IN THAT CORNER, AS I WAS TOLD THEY KNOW WHERE I LIVE. IT'S WORTH NOTING THE MOTION FAILED AND I'M GRATEFUL FOR THAT. IN APRIL, IN A LOUISVILLE NEIGHBORHOOD, THERE WERE NEO-NAZIS WHO WERE HANDING OUT FLIERS DENYING THE HOLOCAUST AND MAKING ACCUSATIONS AGAINST THE JEWISH COMMUNITY. AS WE JUST PASSED, DERBY AT THE DERBY FESTIVAL BEGAN, WE SAW REPEATED CALLS FOR VIOLENCE AGAINST JEWS OUTSIDE DERBY EVENTS, INCLUDING ON THE 19TH AT THE DERBY BREAKFAST LED BY STUDENTS FOR JUSTICE IN PALESTINE, A HAMAS LINKED EXTREMIST GROUP ON CAMPUS WHO HAD SIGNS CALLING FOR 
          [00:05:03]
VIOLENCE AGAINST JEWS. AND ON THE 30TH, AS THEY TRIED TO DISRUPT THE PEGASUS PARADE, AGAIN WITH THE SAME REMARKS AND CALLS FOR VIOLENCE AGAINST JEWS. ON THE 22ND, CONGRESSMAN MCGARVEY HAD AN EVENT HERE IN LOUISVILLE THAT WAS DISRUPTED BY PRO-HAMAS PROTESTERS, INCLUDING CALLS FOR THE GENOCIDE OF JEWS. AND ON THE 25TH, YET ANOTHER ANTI-SEMITIC CARTOON WAS PUBLISHED IN A LOUISVILLE PAPER. IN MAY, AN ANTI-SEMITIC CARTOON WAS AGAIN PUBLISHED IN A LOUISVILLE PAPER, AND ON THE 2ND OF MAY, A PRO-HAMAS RALLY TOOK PLACE AT THE WATERFRONT, INCLUDING MANY CALLS FOR VIOLENCE AGAINST JEWS. ONE OF THE LEADERS OF THAT RALLY CURRENTLY SITS AS A LOUISVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEMBER. HE WAS A CANDIDATE AT THAT TIME AND WAS ELECTED AFTER LEADING AN ANTI-SEMITIC RALLY ON THE 15TH OF MAY. A PRO-HAMAS RALLY WAS HELD AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE, LED BY STUDENTS DRESSED IN PALESTINE, A RADICAL HAMAS LINKED GROUP. LATER THAT NIGHT, PARTICIPANTS IN THE RALLY WENT TO SENECA PARK, ONE OF THE DENTISTS JEWISH POPULATIONS IN THE COMMONWEALTH, AND SPRAY PAINTED. THE ONLY GOOD JEW IS A DEAD JEW ON A STONE. IN CASE ANYONE WASN'T FULLY AWARE OF WHAT FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA MEANT, WHICH IS A CALL FOR THE GENOCIDE OF 7 MILLION JEWS LIVING IN ISRAEL. OR WHAT? INTIFADA HERE, INTIFADA EVERYWHERE, OR GLOBALIZED INTIFADA CALLED FOR MURDER FOR JEWS IN LOUISVILLE. THEY WERE MUCH CLEARER WITH WRITING THE ONLY GOOD JEW IS A DEAD JEW. IN JUNE, IF YOU LOOK, THERE WAS A SERIES OF THREATS AGAINST SYNAGOGUES ALL ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH, BUT SPECIFICALLY IN LOUISVILLE ON THE SEVENTH, ON THE 12TH, ON THE 14TH, ON THE 15TH, ON THE 17TH, ON THE 25TH, ON THE 27TH, AND ON THE 28TH OF JUNE. DURING THAT TIME, THERE WAS ALSO A NEO-NAZI GROUP THAT PUT UP HATEFUL STICKERS, IDENTIFIED THEMSELVES AS PATRIOT PATRIOT FRONT, AND PUT UP STICKERS DOWNTOWN ON BUSINESSES WITHOUT THOSE BUSINESSES PERMISSION, ACCUSING THE JEWS OF VARIOUS CONSPIRACY THEORIES. WHILE THIS DIDN'T TAKE PLACE IN LOUISVILLE, IT IS WORTH NOTING ON THE 30TH OF JUNE WAS A RALLY HOSTED HERE IN KENTUCKY. WHITE SUPREMACISTS, BLACK SEPARATISTS, GROYPERS, ISLAMIST FUNDAMENTALISTS ALL MET IN SOMERSET, KENTUCKY. THEY RENTED A ROOM UNDER FALSE PRETENSES AND BROADCASTED FROM THAT ROOM. IT WAS ONE OF THE LARGER INTERNET HATE EVENTS IN THE LAST 20 YEARS. THEY BROUGHT IT TO KENTUCKY, THINKING THEY WOULD FIND SOME KIND OF SUPPORT FOR THAT. I AM VERY GRATIFIED TO SAY THAT THEY DID NOT FIND ANY SUPPORT FOR THAT. AND THE MOMENT BOTH THE VENUE AND THE MAYOR OF SOMERSET FOUND OUT THAT WAS HAPPENING, THEY CONDEMNED IT, AS DID OUR GOVERNOR. IN JULY. 
          UNFORTUNATELY, WE AGAIN HAVE TWO INSTANCES OF SYNAGOGUES IN LOUISVILLE BEING THREATENED ON THE 11TH AND ON THE 30TH. ON THE 29TH, AS QUINTEZ BROWN PLED GUILTY TO THE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF OUR MAYOR, WHO IS JEWISH, AND DENIED THE CLAIMS BY HIS SUPPORTERS THAT THIS WAS A MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE AND THAT THE MOTIVE DID NOT INCLUDE POLITICS AND WHO THE MAYOR WAS. 
          HIS SUPPORTERS AGAIN BEGAN HARASSING JEWS ONLINE, WHO HAD PREVIOUSLY POINTED OUT THAT OBVIOUSLY THE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF A JEWISH MAYORAL CANDIDATE HAD TO DO WITH POLITICS AND HIS FAITH IN. ON AUGUST THE 3RD, THERE WAS ANOTHER PRO-HAMAS RALLY IN LOUISVILLE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE, AGAIN WITH CALLS FOR VIOLENCE AGAINST JEWS. ON THE 5TH OF OCTOBER, NEARLY EXACTLY A YEAR AFTER THE OCTOBER 7TH POGROM, THE BLOODIEST DAY IN JEWISH HISTORY SINCE THE HOLOCAUST, A HOST OF RADICAL GROUPS HOSTED A RALLY AT LOUISVILLE WATERFRONT. BOTH SIGNS AND SLOGANS CELEBRATED THE ATTACK THE MURDER OF CHILDREN, THE RAPE OF WOMEN, AND CALLED FOR FURTHER VIOLENCE AGAINST JEWS. AND LASTLY, IN NOVEMBER, AGAIN, ANTI-SEMITIC GRAFFITI HAPPENED, THIS, THIS TIME AT CHEROKEE PARK, WITH SPRAY PAINTED RACIST MESSAGE, ANTI-SEMITIC MESSAGES AND SWASTIKAS. IT IS WORTH NOTING THE POLICE AND THE PARK RESPONDED IMMEDIATELY ON THE FINAL PAGE. AS IT'S WORTH NOTING, THERE WERE 31 INCIDENTS DIRECTLY IN LOUISVILLE THE FIRST YEAR THAT THE KENTUCKY JEWISH COUNCIL DID A REPORT ON ANTISEMITISM. WE DIDN'T HAVE 31 EVENTS IN THE ENTIRE STATE. WE HAD SAW A MASSIVE RISE IN THE END OF 2023, AFTER OCTOBER 7TH, AND IN 2024, THERE WERE 31 ALONE IN LOUISVILLE AND MANY OTHERS ACROSS THE STATE. THERE WERE THREE KEY AREAS OF CONCERN FOR ANTISEMITISM GOING FORWARD, AND WE'VE UNFORTUNATELY SEEN THOSE CONCERNS VALIDATED THROUGHOUT 2025 SO FAR. THE FIRST IS UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES. WE'VE SEEN A WAVE OF ANTI-SEMITISM. THIS IS NOT UNIQUE TO KENTUCKY. THIS IS HAPPENING ACROSS THE NATION CURRENTLY. THERE IS A HEARING GOING ON IN THE US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WITH UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTS FROM ACROSS THE NATION AGAIN ADDRESSING ANTI-SEMITISM. IN PARTICULAR, THERE WERE ANTI-SEMITIC PROFESSORS AT UOFL UK AND KU AND MURRAY WHO MADE RADICAL ANTI-SEMITIC STATEMENTS AND WHO HAVE POWER OVER THEIR STUDENTS IN THE CLASSROOM, AS WELL AS STUDENTS LED MOVEMENTS THAT CALLED FOR VIOLENCE AGAINST JEWS AND KEPT JEWS FROM ACCESSING CAMPUS FACILITIES. IT IS WORTH 
          [00:10:06]
NOTING THAT THE KENTUCKY STATE HOUSE ADOPTED SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 55, WHICH WAS UNANIMOUSLY PASSED IN THE SENATE AND OVERWHELMINGLY BIPARTISAN, SUPPORTED IN THE HOUSE, WITH A FEW ANTI-SEMITIC RADICALS VOTING AGAINST IT. THAT CALLED FOR UNIVERSITIES TO PAY MORE ATTENTION TO ANTISEMITISM ON THEIR CAMPUS, AND REQUIRE UNIVERSITIES TO REPORT TO THE COUNCIL OF POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION ON WHAT THEY ARE DOING TO COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM. THE SECOND IS IN MEDIA. SOME IN LOCAL MEDIA PRINT MEDIA HAVE FAILED THEIR RESPONSIBILITY AS A PLATFORM. CHOOSING NOT TO ELEVATE HATE IS NOT A FREE SPEECH ISSUE. WE ALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO SAY WHATEVER WE WANT TO SAY. HOWEVER, PAPERS, BROADCASTS, ETC. HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHO THEY CHOOSE TO PLATFORM AND MANY HAVE FAILED AT THAT RESPONSIBILITY. 
          AND THE LAST IS RADICAL POLITICAL AND ISLAMIST IDEOLOGIES. KENTUCKY, LIKE THE NATION, HAS SEEN A MASSIVE RISE IN POLITICAL EXTREMISM FROM BOTH EXTREMES, FROM NEO-NAZI MOVEMENTS TO ISLAMIST IDEOLOGUES, BOTH WHO TARGET AND HATE AMERICAN VALUES, AND THE JEWISH COMMUNITY IN PARTICULAR. ADDRESSING THIS IS NOT A JEWISH CONCERN. IT IS AN AMERICAN ONE, AND I AM GRATEFUL FOR YOUR EFFORTS TO DO SO. I'M HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS? HAVE YOU, COUNCILMAN HANSON? I'M JUST CALLING. THANKS. I DIDN'T KNOW THERE WAS THAT MUCH HATRED IN IN LOUISVILLE THAT PEOPLE WOULD. I MEAN, I DON'T MIND PEOPLE DISAGREEING WITH ME. I MEAN, PEOPLE ALL THE TIME SAY THEY DON'T BELIEVE WHAT I BELIEVE. I SAID, WELL, I'M A CHRISTIAN. I SAID, WELL, TELL ME WHAT YOU FOUND OUT. WHAT DO YOU MEAN? I'M LIKE, WELL, IT'S STUPID FOR ME TO BELIEVE SOMETHING THAT SOMEBODY FOUND OUT. IT'S NOT TRUE. TELL ME WHAT YOU FOUND OUT. WELL, I JUST DON'T THINK SO, BECAUSE THAT SOUNDS PRETTY STUPID IN MY MIND. AND WE DO A LOT OF THINGS STUPID WITHOUT KNOWING WHY WE DO IT. SOMEBODY JUST WANTS TO FOLLOW ANOTHER PERSON, BUT THEY HAVE PEOPLE GO AFTER PEOPLE. HATEFULLY. I HAD IT BOTHERS ME A LOT AND I APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING ALL THIS. I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T I DIDN'T READ ALL THIS IN THE BACK HERE. IT'S. TO ME, IT'S SHAMEFUL IN MY MIND, ALTHOUGH PEOPLE LOOK AT ME AS BEING SHAMEFUL TOO, BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN SOMETHING AND THEY DON'T BELIEVE ANYTHING. 
          AND SO. WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT'S FREE SPEECH. YOU OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO SAY THINGS. 
          YOU OUGHT NOT BE ABLE TO HURT PEOPLE. YOU OUGHT NOT MAKE PEOPLE FEEL UNEASY OF BEING SOMEPLACE. NOT IF YOU BELIEVE IN THE AMERICA, THE, YOU KNOW, FREEDOM AND LIBERTY. AND SO THANKS FOR COMING. OKAY, COUNCILMAN MARCUS WINKLER, THANK YOU, DOCTOR SHANKLIN, AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND GIVING YOUR PRESENTATION. I KNOW YOU LISTED IT A THREE REMEDY OR REMEDIES PROBABLY ISN'T THE RIGHT WORD, BUT THREE PIECES OF THREE COURSES, YOU KNOW, I THINK ONE THAT MAYBE YOU LEFT OFF, THAT PROBABLY IS AN IMPORTANT ONE AS WELL, IS NATIONAL LEADERS, EITHER IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR OR THE PUBLIC SECTOR AMPLIFYING, YOU KNOW, NEO-NAZIS, HOLOCAUST DENIERS AND PROVIDING THEM A PLATFORM AND AMPLIFYING THEIR VOICES. AND IN SOME WAYS, NORMALIZING THEIR BEHAVIOR, I THINK IS EQUALLY PROBLEMATIC, YOU KNOW, AND ANTI-SEMITISM IN ANY FORM IS UNACCEPTABLE. AND, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE SHOULD MAKE THAT VERY, VERY CLEAR AND SHOULD NOT ASSOCIATE THEMSELVES WITH WITH THAT TYPE OF SPEECH. I WOULD CERTAINLY CONSIDER THAT PART OF THE THIRD CONCERN THAT THE RADICAL IDEOLOGY YOU'VE SEEN, AS I MENTIONED FROM BOTH SIDES, IS A IS A TRICKLE DOWN CONCEPT. AS THE COUNCILMAN SAID, A LOT OF THESE PEOPLE ARE DOING IT OUT OF IGNORANCE. THERE IS A CAMPUS CULTURE THAT SUPPORTS THESE HAMAS RALLIES THAT SUPPORTS THESE ANTI-SEMITIC BEHAVIORS. AND OTHER PEOPLE TAKE PART BECAUSE THERE ARE STUDENTS TAKING PART. WHEN YOU HAVE POLITICAL LEADERS WHO SAY THINGS, WHEN YOU HAVE EVEN PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE THOSE RESPONSIBILITY. PODCAST HOSTS. WHEN YOU HAVE A JOE ROGAN WHO HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE LISTEN TO, HAVE A HOLOCAUST DENIER COME ON HIS PROGRAM AND AMPLIFIES THEM WITH JUST SOMEONE ELSE TO LISTEN TO, KNOWING WHAT HE'S SAYING IS FALSE. KNOWING THE REASON HE IS SAYING THOSE THINGS, YES, IT ABSOLUTELY TRICKLES DOWN. SO THAT'S ALL INCLUDED IN OUR THIRD CONCERN, WHICH IS THE RADICAL IZATION OF IDEOLOGIES THAT WE'VE BEEN SEEING. IS THERE THERE ARE ANY MORE CONCERNS OR QUESTIONS? THE YOU SAY THE THERE WAS A CARTOON BY THE PUT IN THE COURIER JOURNAL. YES. I DON'T GET THE COURIER. I WOULD NEVER I HAVEN'T SEEN IT. BUT WHAT WAS IT I MEAN IT WAS IT. IT WAS MAKING FUN OR JUST HATEFUL. SO I DON'T 
          [00:15:02]
HAVE IN THE REPORT. I CAN CERTAINLY SEND YOU THE CARTOONS. WE HAVE THEM ALL RECORDED AND INCLUDED. FOR EXAMPLE, ONE OF THE ONES THAT COMES TO MIND IMMEDIATELY IS A PICTURE OF OUR FORMER MAYOR AND OUR CURRENT MAYOR PICTURED THE SAME. JUST THE MAYOR'S NOSE GETTING LONGER AND MONEY FALLING OUT OF HIS POCKETS AS THE MAYOR. AS THE MAYOR SWITCHED FROM GREG FISHER TO CRAIG GREENBERG, USING OBVIOUS ANTI-SEMITIC TROPES. USING HOLOCAUST MINIMIZATION TO TALK ABOUT VIOLENCE AROUND THE WORLD. I'D BE HAPPY TO SEND YOU THE CARTOONS THEMSELVES. I'M NOT SURE I CAN PROPERLY ADDRESS THEM WITHOUT MY NOTES IN FRONT OF ME. I APOLOGIZE, OKAY, I APPRECIATE IT. I MEAN, BECAUSE I KNOW THE COURIER JOURNAL, I'M GRATEFUL TO HIM BECAUSE I WAS A PAPER BOY AND IN 1964, I WON A TRIP TO THE WORLD'S FAIR. AND SO I'M THANKFUL THEY TAUGHT ME HOW TO DO BUSINESS AND STUFF, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S EVER RIGHT. YOU KNOW, I ALWAYS HAVE SOME TROUBLE WITH, YOU KNOW, BEING HONEST AND TELLING THE TRUTH AND, AND NOT JUST BECAUSE SOMEBODY BELIEVES A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN YOU DO THAT THEY OUGHT TO BE SOME WAY TO, TO GO AFTER THEM AND HURT THEM, IN MY VIEW, IN MY, MY RELIGION. I WANT EVERYBODY TO GO TO HEAVEN. AND SO I TRY NOT TO DO ANYTHING TO MAKE ANYBODY BE OFFENDED BY ME, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THEIR STUPIDITY SOMETIMES WILL CAUSE THEM PROBLEMS, AND I DON'T WANT THEM TO HAVE THAT PROBLEM. THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. SO YEAH, I'D LIKE TO. I'M DISAPPOINTED THAT THE MANAGEMENT OF COURIER JOURNAL. I MEAN, I DON'T MIND, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE MAKING FUN DIFFERENT TIMES AND STUFF, BUT BE HURTFUL IS WRONG. SO I DON'T BLAME YOU FOR NOT READING THE COURIER. I'M NOT SURE ANYONE DOES ANYMORE, BUT I DID GROW UP READING IT. I GREW UP HERE IN LOUISVILLE, AND FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS, THE COURIER JOURNAL HAS MADE OUR OUR REPORTS FAR MORE CONCERNING THAN CARTOONS IS OP EDS THAT THEY HAVE PUT IN THAT ATTACK THE JEWISH COMMUNITY. THEY'VE HAD ONE IN THE REPORT EVERY YEAR FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS. AND TWO OF THOSE REPORTS, TWO OF THOSE OP EDS, THEY LATER RESCINDED AND APOLOGIZED FOR, WITH SEEMINGLY NO CHANGE IN HOW THEY CHOOSE THE OP EDS AS THEY'VE AGAIN AND AGAIN COME UP. THERE'S BEEN OP EDS SAYING THAT THE JEWS ARE TRYING TO MAKE HOLOCAUST DAY ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST, WHICH DOESN'T SOUND THAT WILD OF A THING. COMPARING RABBIS TO HITLER. AND THIS YEAR SUGGESTING THAT AMERICA IS DOING TOO MUCH TO COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM, WHICH CLEARLY IS NOT IN THE FACTS. YEAH. SICK. THANKS. I'LL JUST CONCLUDE IF I GO AHEAD. NO, I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR COMING. AND I AGREE WITH WHAT OTHERS OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE SAID THAT ANTI ANTI-SEMITISM IS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER. WE CAN'T GO AGAINST EACH OTHER. SO THANK YOU FOR COMING AND BRINGING THIS TO OUR ATTENTION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MR. I JUST WANTED TO ECHO MY COLLEAGUE, COUNCILWOMAN WOOLRIDGE AND APOLOGIZE TO YOU FOR WHAT YOU GO THROUGH. I WAS HERE WHEN WE HAD THE DISRUPTION IN MARCH WHEN YOU WAS SITTING BACK THERE, AND I WAS DISGUSTED, SICKENED. AND I'M DISGUSTED THAT I HAVE TO. I SEE MYSELF AS A COLLEAGUE WITH SOME IN THIS BODY THAT ARE AGAINST YOU, AND IT'S DISGUSTING. WE'VE GOT TO FIND A BETTER WAY. I HAVEN'T ARRIVED LIKE MY COLLEAGUE, WHEN IT COMES TO BEING PEACEFUL. I'M LIKE, PETER, I JUST SOON CUT YOUR EAR OFF WHEN YOU, YOU KNOW. BUT I KNOW I CAN'T DO THAT ALL THE TIME. BUT IF I SEE SOMEBODY ACTING THAT WAY TOWARDS SOMEBODY, I'M GOING TO SAY SOMETHING AND DO SOMETHING, AND I THINK WE ALL SHOULD. BUT I STAND WITH YOU, AND I THINK THIS BODY HAS PROVEN THAT THEY STAND WITH YOU. WHEN WE DEFEATED THE RESOLUTION AND I, I DON'T I CAN'T SPEAK FOR EVERYBODY, BUT BUT THE MAJORITY OF THIS BODY STANDS WITH YOU. AND WE THANK YOU FOR HAVING THE COURAGE TO STAND UP AND SAY SOMETHING. SO I WANT TO MAKE CLEAR I'M SPEAKING TO THIS BODY NOT IN CHASTISEMENT, BUT IN A FORMATIVE ROLE. I BELIEVE THE LOUISVILLE METRO COUNCIL HAS DONE ITS ROLE AS ONE OF LOUISVILLE'S FAVORITE SONS AND A PROMINENT JEWISH LEADER. LOUIS BRANDEIS FAMOUSLY SAID, THE BEST ANSWER TO EVIL SPEECH IS MORE SPEECH. THIS COUNCIL HAS RAISED THEIR VOICE, AS THEY DID WHEN VOTING DOWN THE HAMAS RESOLUTION, AND THEY'VE DONE SEVERAL TIMES WHEN ANTI-SEMITISM HAS BEEN AN ISSUE HERE IN LOUISVILLE. THE MAYOR HAS MADE HIS VOICE KNOWN. THE METRO COUNCIL HAS MADE THEIR VOICE KNOWN. THIS IS NOT IN ANY WAY TO CONDEMN OR CHASTISE THE COUNCIL, BUT TO KEEP YOU GUYS INFORMED. AND I LASTLY WANT TO SAY THAT LOUISVILLE'S JEWISH HISTORY IS A VERY PROUD ONE. THIS IS THE LOUISVILLE OF BRANDEIS. IT IS LOUISVILLE OF THE SHAPIROS. IT IS LOUISVILLE OF BERNHEIM, OF JEWISH HOSPITAL. IT IS A CITY THAT HAS HAD A PROUD JEWISH COMMUNITY FOR OVER 100 YEARS, FOR OVER 150 YEARS, WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE CULTURE OF 
          [00:20:03]
THE CITY, TO THE BOURBON OF THE CITY. AND THE LOUISVILLE JEWISH COMMUNITY IS VERY PROUD TO BE THE LOUISVILLE JEWISH COMMUNITY. I GREW UP WITH A MAYOR FOR LIFE WHO IS JEWISH. THERE ARE NOT MANY YOUNG JEWS WHO COULD SAY THAT IN ANY COMMONWEALTH, STATE OR CITY IN AMERICA. AND I AM VERY PROUD OF THE WAY THIS CITY, THE CITY OF MY BIRTH, HAS EMBRACED THE JEWISH COMMUNITY AND OF THIS COMMONWEALTH, HAS EMBRACED THE JEWISH COMMUNITY. I WANT TO MAKE CLEAR THAT WHILE THIS LIST IS TROUBLING AND NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED, IT DOES. THERE IS NO WAY TO SAY THAT KENTUCKY IS IN THE FOREFRONT OF THIS ISSUE. ON THE CONTRARY, AS MENTIONED, WHEN WE ADOPTED THE IHRA DEFINITION OF ANTISEMITISM, KENTUCKY, LOUISVILLE, LEXINGTON, FRANKFORT HAVE BEEN ON THE FOREFRONT OF COMBATING THIS ISSUE. HOWEVER, ONE NEEDS TO BE INFORMED IN ORDER TO FULFILL THAT ROLE. SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR HAVING TODAY. I CANNOT STAND HERE WITHOUT MENTIONING THAT THERE ARE STILL 59 HOSTAGES WHO ARE BEING HELD FOR THEIR FAITH BY HAMAS, INCLUDING FIVE AMERICANS. ONLY 21 OF THEM ARE CURRENTLY BELIEVED TO STILL BE ALIVE. ALTHOUGH IN MY FAITH I HOLD OUT HOPE FOR ALL OF THEM. AND AS FIVE AMERICANS ARE STILL BEING HELD AS AMERICANS SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT EVERY SINGLE DAY. SO I WOULD CONCLUDE WITH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME BRING THE HOSTAGES HOME. NOW I'M YISRAEL CHAI, THANK YOU. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. IF WE HAVE NO 
          [Adjournment
Note: Agendas are followed at the discretion of the Chair. While an item may be listed, it does not mean all items will be heard and/or acted upon by the Committee.]
ONE ELSE HAS ANYTHING TO SAY, THEN WE ARE ADJOURNED. THANK YOU.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.