Baltimore Jews Mount Anti-Iran Car Show Protest

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By Anne Cohen February 7, 2013

Baltimore Jewish groups are calling for a protest against car companies that they claim have operations in Iran, the Baltimore Jewish Times reported.

The Baltimore Zionist District, along with organizations like United Against A Nuclear Iran, Shalom USA, Endowement for Middle East Truth, and a number of local synagogues will hold a protest on February 10 during Baltimore’s annual auto show. They will call on Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Peugeot and Volkswagon to stop doing business with Iran.

“Everyone needs to understand the global threat a nuclear Iran poses. This is a regime that doesn’t just say evil and destructive things, they actually carry them out through their surrogates throughout the world,” Brian Sacks, BZD president, told The Baltimore Jewish Times.

Jay Bernstein, the Shalom USA radio host who coordinated the event, told the paper that though he doesn’t believe the protest will actually prevent these companies from continuing their business, he wants these companies to be held accountable. “I don’t know if what they’re doing is legal or not legal,” he said. “I want them to know it is morally reprehensible.”

Maryland has already passed an Iran Certification Act, barring Maryland companies in a number of fields from doing business with Iran. Most recently, state Del. Dr. Dan Morhaim introduced an anti-Iran bill that would prevent a company that invests in Iran from participating in a contract with the state.

Anne Cohen was the Forward’s deputy digital media editor. When she’s not looking for the secret Jewish history of Voodoo in New Orleans, or making lists about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she writes for The Assimilator. She graduated from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism with an M.S. magazine concentration in 2012.

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