WORTHINGTON, Ohio (WCMH) - A regularly scheduled council meeting in the City of Worthington was interrupted Monday evening when two anonymous men spewed hate-filled comments toward the Jewish community.
"My initial reaction to the recordings from Worthington that I heard from their city council meeting was horror and outrage to think that somebody could come to a city council meeting in central Ohio and spew antisemitism like was seen in that meeting is horrible and frightening," said Jonathan Feibel, the board chairperson of JewishColumbus.
The city council meeting entered into a public comment period in which citizens typically stand at a podium and have five minutes to speak directly to the council. Several speakers took time to address the council on matters that pertained to community safety or other agenda items.
Then there was a moment of brief confusion when one of the city staff can be heard saying, "We have a couple people in the Teams who have their hands raised for public comment."
"Teams" refers to Microsoft Teams which is used by the city to livestream its council meetings for those who may not be able to attend in person or want to listen from home.
Another city staff member responds, "Do we have any idea what they're going to be talking about?"
At that point, the speakers are allowed to be unmuted and are given five minutes like any other public commenter. The first man identifies himself with a fake name and lists an address with numbers commonly associated with white supremacist groups. The man rants for nearly five minutes, repeating anti-Jewish rhetoric and asking the council to consider ordinances to protect white people.
"I hope everybody thinks about being fair to white people," the man can be heard saying. "We owe whites an apology."
After he was finished, the second man begins by agreeing "with the previous speaker" and repeating hate filled comments about the Jewish people. At that point, a council member cuts the man off. The man then adds several extremely hateful and egregious comments toward the council and Jewish people.
Feibel listened to the recordings again with NBC4. In regard to the two speakers, he said, "They're clearly embarrassed by who, you know, their views, and aren't willing to come out in public and express their views publicly because they know their views are horrible and not right and it's cowardly."
The City of Worthington released a statement Tuesday. It reads:
"The City of Worthington strongly disagrees with statements made during the public comment period at the September 16, 2024 City Council meeting. The comments, which we will not detail or repeat here because of their offensive nature, do not reflect the views of our organization.
In 2021, City Council adopted a vision statement focused on being a diverse and equitable community. This vision welcomes people across age, race, gender, ethnicity, orientation, gender expression, abilities, income, religion and politics. City leadership stands by this vision."
Feibel believes the City of Worthington could have taken a stronger stand.
"We rely on our leaders to call out antisemitism when they see it and that hasn't happened yet in the City of Worthington," he said. "They've always been an ally to the Jewish people, and we expect them to stand up with the Jewish people and call out anti-Semitism as leaders in their community."
NBC4 asked a Worthington representative if the city will continue to allow public comment during meetings from attendees on Microsoft Teams. As of the 11 p.m. Tuesday, the city has not responded.
