Circumcision Gas Station Mural Sparks Protests in Cleveland
Image by YouTube
Image by YouTube
A coalition of Cleveland Jewish leaders are protesting a graphic mural painted on a gas station wall that depicts a rabbi performing a controversial circumcision ritual.
Anti-Defamation League regional director Anita Gray, and Cheryl Davis, chair of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s Community Relations Committee, slammed the mural as anti-Semitic.
“This outrageous and deeply offensive anti-Semitic mural has no place in our city,” Davis said in a statement. “We need to stand firm against this kind of hatred.”
The mural appears on the side wall of Biggie’s Foodmart and gas station in Cleveland. Written above the graphic image of are the words: “Talmudic Priests in Church: Sex With Minors Permited [sic].”
It apparently depicts the metzitzah b’peh ritual, the controversial practice in which a mohel sucks the blood from an infant’s penis after circumcision.
The offending mural.
The gas station owner, Abe Ayad, refused to comment.
Local leadders have spoken out against the graphic, noting its potential impact on children. One of the graphics can be seen from the playground of George Washington Carver elementary school
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson denounced the mural in a statement: “There is no place in Cleveland for this inappropriate image and I am urging the owners of this establishment to remove it immediately.”
If the owners of Biggie’s do not paint over the mural, the Cleveland government plans to “explore all legal avenues,” news reports said.
The gas station mural isn’t just potentially offensive to Jews.
On the adjacent wall to the circumcision mural is another similar image with the title “The Faces Of….Jesus.” The first line of the graphic reads: “To Jews he’s a bastard, who’s in hell.” Curiously, underneath the image’s third depiction of Jesus are the words “Palestinian Born,” in smaller letters.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Dive In
-
Fast Forward Columbia staff receive texts asking if they’re Jewish, as government hunts antisemitic harassment on campus
-
Fast Forward NIH bans grants for schools that boycott Israeli companies
-
Fast Forward An elite Jewish society at Yale fractures over its director’s embrace of Itamar Ben-Gvir
-
Fast Forward After outcry, Cornell president cancels pro-Palestinian performer chosen for campus concert
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
- 3
Opinion Yes, the attack on Gov. Shapiro was antisemitic. Here’s what the left should learn from it
- 4
News Who is Alan Garber, the Jewish Harvard president who stood up to Trump over antisemitism?
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on U.S. soil. I think I know why no one objected
-
Fast Forward Columbia staff receive texts asking if they’re Jewish, as government hunts antisemitic harassment on campus
-
Opinion A Palestinian leader just gave Trump an unprecedented opening to pursue peace
-
Fast Forward NIH bans grants for schools that boycott Israeli companies
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.