Salt Lake Tabernacle to host free sacred music evening on Sunday night
04/23/2025 11:18:58 AM
The Jewish rabbi of the House of Prayer for All Peoples doesn’t want anyone to miss the special feeling he said will exist Sunday night during the free “Sacred Music Evening” at the Salt Lake Tabernacle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“The tabernacle here in Salt Lake City, it’s a very special building, because it was built by people who put everything they had into it, and you can feel the love in there,” Rabbi Alan Scott Bachman said Wednesday at a news conference, which will include choirs and religious dances.
“And, when you have people from different faiths and belief systems — each a part of God’s family — there is a vibration in that tabernacle that can’t be explained in words,” he said. “It’s a feeling. You really feel the presence of God in the Tabernacle when various faiths are in there together and we’re doing something that is really beautiful together.”
The 2025 Sacred Music Night will feature guests representing Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam, Buddhism, Native American spirituality and more. Elder Bruce Boucher, an Area Seventy will provide a host welcome from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Congregation Kol Ami Cantor Adam Davis will perform Jewish music with Tabernacle organist Bonnie Goodliffe. Carl Moore, who is Hopi and Chemehuevi, will perform a Northern Traditional Dance.
A difficult era for American Jews, including in Utah
03/13/2025 07:34:56 PM
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt struck a troubling contrast in his recent State of Hate address, that he titled, “Never is Now.”
While Greenblatt thanked God for a possible end to the Israel-Hamas war, he also highlighted the deep, growing sense of fear experienced by American Jews.
“The ground beneath us has profoundly shifted since (Oct. 7),” he said. “We are in a new era. One (researcher has said) that the ‘golden age’ of American Jewry is over.”
And while Utah prides itself on its religious freedom protections, Jews in Utah say they are also experiencing this fear.
A survey out from the American Jewish Committee in February found that a majority (56%) of American Jews report that they have changed their behavior due to the rise in antisemitism since Oct. 7, 2023.
This is the first time in the history of the AJC’s reports that a majority of Jews expressed fears of persecution.
The ADL found that more antisemitic incidents have occurred in the year since Oct. 7 than any other time in the last 45 years. Troublingly, prejudice is growing particularly quickly among young Americans.
And it’s not just that anti-Jewish extremism is rising. It’s also that anti-Jewish extremism is normalizing. Tropes about dual loyalty and conspiratorial control of media and the Wall Street abound on social media, per Time. More Americans incorporate anti-Jewish statements into Israel-Hamas war protests. And more Americans — over a quarter of survey respondents, including over half of Gen Z respondents — either support Hamas over Israel or at least find it acceptable if their close friends or family members support Hamas.
Rabbi Samuel Spector of Congregation Kol Ami in Salt Lake City, painted a concerning picture of the situation facing his community.
“Since Oct. 7 ... we have received multiple bomb threats,” he reported to the Deseret News. “We have been harassed and received threatening emails, phone calls, social media comments. People have also driven past our synagogue and harassed our congregation.”
Congregation Kol Ami has also added security upgrades — “literally, hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said Rabbi Spector — in the form of physical systems and armed security.
“I’ve gotten things telling me just like, how disgusting Jews are, and how much people hate Jews, and what a terrible person I am,” Rabbi Spector said. “I talked to a woman (in my congregation) yesterday ... people would, in her work, purposefully in front of her, make very derogatory comments about Israel, or ... say things to her like, ‘what do you think about Israel murdering all these babies?’”
He described the demonization of the Israeli state, calling it antisemitism “mask(ing) itself as anti-Israel sentiment (that) does so in a way that intimidates local Jewish populations ... (and) applies double standards to Israel that no other country in the world is held to.”
For context, the Jerusalem Post reported that the vast majority of Jews self-identify as Zionists, meaning they support the existence of a Jewish state.
Jewish students at the University of Utah were harassed by protestors shouting “Free Palestine” while in the act of praying. A Salt Lake City bar instituted a “No Zionists Allowed” policy in 2024. Rabbi Spector recounted stories of his friends, family and students taking off their yarmulkes for fear of being identified as Jewish.
He said he’s noticed antisemitism coming from both sides of the political aisle.
“I think people on the right are really good at calling out left-wing antisemitism, while people on the left are really good at calling out right-wing antisemitism, but I keep encouraging folks to call it out when it’s your own side, too,” Rabbi Spector told the Deseret News.
Interfaith music concert unites voices with a message of inclusion
02/28/2025 08:58:02 AM
For the second year, the Interfaith Harmony Concert in Millcreek celebrated the variety of religions and faiths within the city. Held in the Public Market at Millcreek Common (1354 E. Chambers Ave.) the event was intended to promote unity, understanding and connection through the language of music.
Millcreek City Council Representative Silvia Catten serves on the city’s Interfaith Council. She said she enjoys the annual interfaith concert as it fosters dialogue and celebrates shared values and respect
“I had always had this vision of faiths coming together, and I always thought it was a very nice idea,” Catten said. “We have several people on our Interfaith Council that represent different faiths and churches, mainly within our community but also in the broader surrounding area. A lot of it is focused on service in our community and we have a lot of service opportunities throughout the year.”
The free concert featured performances from members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Congregation Kol Ami and the Salt Lake City Krishna Temple.
Congregation Kol Ami Cantor Adam Davis shared songs from the Jewish faith. Because the event was held on a Saturday night, Davis invited the attendees to participate in a ritual that ended Shabbat with wine, spices and a braided candle.
“This ceremony is called Havdalah, which means separation,” he said. “It’s the separation between what’s holy and what is every day. The candle is a multiwicked candle, woven together with the idea that from many we are woven together into one, into unity.”
Bill protecting worshippers from unruly protesters passes Utah House
02/15/2025 08:30:50 AM
In the wake of sometimes-boisterous protests near churches and synagogues, the Utah House has overwhelmingly passed a bill that would make it easier for law enforcement to intervene on behalf of faith groups.
Introduced by Rep. Matt MacPherson, R-West Valley City, HB271 would update existing Utah law to disallow people from preventing or “substantially” disrupting a lawful gathering — be it by use of force, violence or the threat of violence. The measure would also disallow individuals from blocking anyone from entering or leaving a building where a gathering is taking place, or hindering that meeting through “the use of excessive sound.”
MacPherson said the bill, which now awaits Senate action, represents a response to concerns raised by members of various churches and synagogues regarding demonstrators — in particular those protesting Israel’s attacks on Gaza — interrupting funerals, weddings and regular worship services primarily through noise.
Rabbi Samuel Spector of Salt Lake City’s Congregation Kol Ami is among those who have been frustrated by the limits put on law enforcement to protect worshippers from harassment.
The faith leader described a recent incident in which an individual drove onto the synagogue’s property and began shouting obscenities at those walking across the parking lot. Congregants brought the license plate number and a description of the harasser to the police, only to learn that there was not enough to charge the person.
“That kind of behavior intimidates people,” Spector said, “who then don’t come back because they’re scared.”
Utahns react to religious lawsuit against Trump admin for allowing ICE to enter churches
02/11/2025 05:50:47 PM
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — More than two dozen Christian and Jewish groups across the United States filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration.
The groups representing millions, are challenging the Trump administration’s move in giving immigration agents more freedom to make arrests at houses of worship.
The 80-page lawsuit outlines why religious groups feel loosening restrictions on ICE agents and houses of worship is a first amendment violation.
At congregation Kol Ami in Millcreek, Rabbi Sam Spector is aware of the recent lawsuits.
“With our congregation, we have people from all around the world. What is important is that every single person that comes to our synagogue feels safe,” Spector said.
The lawsuit states the new policy is spreading fear of raids, which lowers attendance at worship services and worship programs. The lawsuit said this is an infringement on religious freedoms.
Spector said his congregation doesn’t ask immigration statuses of anyone who visits.
“We are making sure we are in compliance of the law while at the same time letting our congregants know we are going to make sure that anyone who comes here can do so without being bothered," he said.
Wed, April 30 2025
2 Iyyar 5785
