COBBLE HILL — The cancellation of this year’s Brooklyn Pride’s 15th annual interfaith service is being blamed on a lack of involvement and on disagreements over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, report the Times of Israel and other Jewish publications.
Brooklyn Pride co-chair Mickey Heller said that registration was low and that several participating organizations and choirs had pulled out or could not attend for unclear reasons. He primarily attributed the low turnout to a lack of interest, and said he did not want to speculate.
However, Rabbi Michelle Dardashti, the Kane Street Synagogue’s spiritual leader since 2022, pointed to unrest over the war in Gaza.
In an email, Rabbi Dardashti wrote that one ensemble said that many of its members were people of color and immigrants who felt uncomfortable with a police presence at the event and with what the group described as the synagogue’s pro-Israel stance.
Dardashti condemned this as “discriminatory,” describing Kane Street’s relationship with Israel as “deep and complex,” and emphasizing that the congregation is largely against the current Israeli government and has called for the end of the war.
Since the outbreak of the war following the Oct. 7 attacks, many activists in the LGBTQ+ community have taken stands against Israel, Zionism and the Israeli government, particularly over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Some Jewish community members have said they have since faced exclusion and ostracization from Pride celebrations due to that debate and its intersection with Israeli and Jewish identities, as well as disputes over the meaning of Zionism.
The Kane Street Synagogue is the oldest in Brooklyn still serving the community it has since 1856. Rabbi Dardashti has a multi-cultural and musical background as the daughter of an American folk singer and an Iranian-born cantor.
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