Missouri Jewish Majority

We are rabbis, philanthropists, and community leaders representing the mainstream of Jewish St. Louis. We write today to defend our friend, State Representative Ray Reed, from a campaign of defamation—and to express our concern about the organization behind it.The Missouri Alliance Network has labeled Ray Reed "one of the most anti-Jew legislators" in Missouri. We know Ray Reed, and this charge is simply false. He has sat with us at our Shabbat tables. He has joined us for Passover seder. He has attended services at our congregations. He has done what genuine allies do: he has shown up, listened, learned, and built real relationships with our community.And he has acted. In response to the firebombing of a Jewish family's property in Clayton, Representative Reed drafted HB 2519, comprehensive hate crimes legislation that would protect synagogues, mosques, churches, and LGBTQ community centers alike. His bill mandates law enforcement training, improves hate crime reporting, and provides real resources for vulnerable communities. This is not the work of someone who hates Jews. This is the work of someone who understands that Jewish security is bound up with the security of all vulnerable people.So what has the Missouri Alliance Network pointed to in labeling Representative Reed "one of the most anti-Jew legislators" in Missouri? Two things: He attended a rally calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. And he voted against a bill that would codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (“IHRA”) definition of antisemitism into Missouri law—a vote he cast only after consulting with mainstream Jewish leaders in St. Louis, many of whom share deep concerns that this particular approach to fighting antisemitism may backfire.On the first count: calling for an end to war is not antisemitism. It is a position held by many in our own community, and by millions of Jews worldwide. To equate peace advocacy with Jew-hatred is not only wrong—it is dangerous.On the second count: opposition to IHRA legislation is a mainstream Jewish position. The Reform Movement, the largest Jewish denomination in America, has expressed serious concerns about codifying the IHRA definition. Even the original drafter of the IHRA definition has been deeply opposed to turning it into law, warning that use of the IHRA definition can be used to chill speech on college campuses. When Representative Reed voted no, he stood with much of the organized Jewish community—not against it.The Missouri Alliance Network presents itself as the voice of St. Louis Jewry. It is not. It is one organization with one perspective, and its tactics concern us deeply.
Our community includes a wide range of views on Israel, on politics, and on how best to fight antisemitism. That diversity is a strength. But the Missouri Alliance Network has increasingly sought to narrow the boundaries of acceptable opinion, targeting those who disagree with them—including fellow Jews—and questioning their loyalty and their motives. Many in our community have felt intimidated into silence. This is not how we build a stronger Jewish community. It is how we tear one apart.Our tradition has strong words for this kind of behavior. We are commanded not to bear false witness. We are warned against lashon hara—harmful speech that damages reputations. And our sages taught that sinat chinam, baseless hatred among Jews, was destructive enough to bring down the Temple itself.There is also a practical danger here. When we label everyone who disagrees with us an antisemite, the term loses its meaning. Allies who might have stood with us begin to feel that no amount of good faith will ever be enough. And when real antisemitism emerges—as it does, with alarming frequency—our warnings carry less weight. Calling Ray Reed a Jew-hater does not make our community safer. It turns those who should be our allies into enemies of our own creation.Representative Reed did the work. He reached out. He built relationships. He listened to what we actually need. And then he wrote a bill to address it. That is what allyship looks like.We urge our fellow St. Louis Jews to look past the Missouri Alliance Network’s rhetoric and consider the facts. Ray Reed is not our enemy. He is our friend. And an organization that would slander him does not speak for us.

Gerald Axelbaum
Shira Berkowitz
Rabbi Daniel Bogard
Rabbi Karen Kriger Bogard
Hillary Anger Elfenbein
Rabbi Randy Fleisher
Sheilla Greenbaum
Gerry Greiman
Terri Grossman
Amy Kuo Hammerman
Laura Horwitz
Neil Jaffee
Rabbi Howard Kaplansky
Scott Levine
Sue Matlof
Joe Pereles
Dana Sandweiss
Sen. Jill Schupp
Anna Shabsin
Vicki Singer
Tim Stern
Rabbi Susan Talve
Spencer Toder
Hank Webber