The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC. Photo: Reuters / Allison Shelley.
Organizers of a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event in San Diego, California, have expressed regret for uninviting a rabbi from speaking due to his views on the Israel-Hamas conflict and concerns for safety.
Alliance San Diego issued an apology in a released statement following widespread backlash regarding their actions towards Rabbi Hanan Leberman, the leader of Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego. He was initially set to lead the closing prayer at the city’s 38th annual All Peoples Celebration at the Balboa Park Activity Center on January 19.
In a description of the event, Alliance San Diego urged the public to “choose Courage; to deliberately do what is right even amidst loud fear and opposition. Our voices must rise above hesitation. We must assert our dignity and echo the notion that any attack on one, is an attack on us all.”
The day before the event, Leberman shared on Facebook that he was “deeply upset” to discover he was uninvited from the ceremony due to his “connection to Israel.” Alliance San Diego claimed Leberman was instead invited to attend as a guest, but the rabbi decided not to attend at all.
The decision to uninvite Leberman faced criticism from a coalition of nearly forty community organizations, social service providers, and synagogues in a joint statement published on January 18.
While apologizing for the decision in a statement shared on Instagram, Alliance San Diego elaborated, stating that event organizers encountered “significant disruption due to two speakers’ public positions on the Israel-Palestine conflict.”
“We acknowledge the community’s concern that this decision felt like an exclusion of Jewish identity, echoing historical traumas and patterns of antisemitism prevalent in many public spaces today. This was not our intention, and we sincerely apologize for reinforcing this pattern,” the group mentioned. “To safeguard the attendees and maintain the focus on Dr. King, we asked both speakers to join us as guests instead of presenting in the program. Our decision was motivated solely by safety concerns, communicated in direct conversations with the speakers. However, we recognize that intent does not erase impact, and we accept responsibility for the hurt caused… We deeply regret that our missteps have diverted us from our primary mission of fostering a San Diego that is safe for everyone.”
Leberman was born in Chicago, raised in Philadelphia, and ordained as a rabbi in Israel, where he lived and worked before relocating to San Diego, according to information from Tifereth Israel Synagogue. He moved to Israel at 20 and served three years in the undercover counter-terrorist unit Duvduvan of the Israel Defense Forces, often taking on the role of the unit’s cantor. Leberman is also a professional opera singer, having studied at the Jerusalem Academy of Music, and has served as a rabbi and cantor for the Masorti movement in Israel and has led congregations as a guest cantor in Israel, England, and the United States.
Alliance San Diego noted in a prior statement that it asked two speakers to relinquish their speaking roles at the event “in response to concerns about potential disruption relating to Zionism and anti-Zionism,” but clarified that they were not formally disinvited. The other speaker remained unnamed but also chose not to attend.
“At that moment, we believed we were acting in the best interest of protecting attendees and preserving the spirit of the event,” the group stated. “Our intention was never to exclude Jewish faith leaders or Jewish voices from this space. As an organization engaged with numerous communities under significant strain and facing assaults on various immigrant communities, including Jewish and Israeli immigrants amidst growing antisemitism and fear, we recognize that our decision exacerbated that pain rather than alleviating it.”
Leberman stated in his Facebook post on January 18 that uninviting him from speaking at the event “stands in opposition to Dr. King’s message — especially during this time when Jews face a significant increase in hate crimes.”
“When I agreed to participate in this event, I did so fully aware that I would be sharing a platform with individuals whose politics and ideas I do not always endorse,” he explained. “That, in essence, embodies the work Dr. King urged us towards: sharing space with those with whom we differ, seeking common ground, and reaffirming our commitment to the dream that all individuals are treated equally. Unfortunately, that dream is not being realized for Jews today.”
“The decision to uninvite me is, in my opinion, a disservice to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” he added. “I believe the organization would benefit from enhanced education about the realities of Zionism and the challenges the Jewish community faces today — from both the left and right.”
