Macon service in response to antisemitic rallies moved to Mulberry Methodist UMC
A community service scheduled for Sunday in response to antisemitic rallies held in Macon last week has been moved to accommodate a larger crowd.
“A Service of Love and Unity” is slated for 2 p.m. Sunday at Mulberry Street United Methodist Church (719 Mulberry St. in downtown Macon). The event was originally scheduled to take place at Temple Beth Israel.
A handful of neo-Nazi extremists rallied outside of the synagogue on June 23, shouting hateful rhetoric and hanging a caricature of a Jewish man wrapped in a Pride flag in effigy from a Macon street sign.
Several hundred Maconites held a demonstration the next day on the steps of Temple Beth Israel in solidarity with Middle Georgia’s Jewish community. The extremists also showed up at that event and engaged in a verbal confrontation with several attendees.
Sunday’s event will feature Temple Beth Israel Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar, who urged her congregation to band together and lean into their faith and community following the antisemitic rallies.
Sen. Jon Ossoff, Georgia’s first Jewish senator, is also planning to attend, as are several Macon-Bibb County community leaders and other elected officials.
The main parking lot at Mulberry Street UMC will be reserved for folks with mobility challenges and event organizers and speakers. Parking attendants will be on the street to direct drivers.
Parking lots near the church, at the Grand Opera House and First Presbyterian Church will be available for parking, and street parking downtown is free on Sunday.
