An Israeli staff member of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Buffalo has been removed from his job after he was tied to social media posts that celebrated and mocked Palestinian suffering during the Israel-Hamas War.
“The postings were shocking,” said Patty Simonson, JCC’s chief executive officer. “Even though they were private and personal opinions, they didn’t reflect the sentiments of the JCC. We don’t perpetuate hate and we’re not about hate, we’re about inclusivity.”
The comments posted by Gon Erez, director of Israel Engagement, included sarcastic humor about the rape of Palestinian women, a comment suggesting indifference to a photo of a Palestinian child who starved to death, and encouraging Palestinian supporters to set themselves on fire as U.S. Airman Aaron Bushnell did last month in protesting Israeli treatment of Palestinians.
Simonson removed Erez from his position on March 13. She told The Buffalo News on Thursday that she first became aware on March 2 of postings from him on X, formerly known as Twitter.
They stretched back to last December, two months after Hamas fighters attacked Israel, killing more than 1,100 civilians and security personnel, and taking 253 Israelis and foreigners as hostages into the Gaza Strip.
Simonson opened an investigation and concluded he needed to be removed from his job.
Erez, an Israeli citizen who was a lieutenant in the Israeli Defense Forces, worked for three years at the JCC in Youngstown, Ohio, before coming to the regional JCC more than two years ago. His job description was as an “ambassador of Israel to the United States,” Simonson said, and included sharing “Israel’s history, culture and religion, and Israeli advocacy.”
Erez’s postings also caught the attention this month of JCC members and others, culminating in a letter signed by more than 100 people earlier in the week. The JCC received the letter on Wednesday, one week to the day after Erez had been quietly…
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