PR expert: How should Jewish organizations relate to the BLM movement?
Arutz Sheva
Stan Steinreich, President and CEO of Steinreich Communications Group, discusses the Jewish community’s response to the protests in the US.
Arutz Sheva spoke to Stan Steinreich, President and CEO of Steinreich Communications Group, about the protests in the US following the death of George Floyd.
The outrageous death of Floyd has led to important conversation for Jewish organizations and not-for-profits on how to respond.
Conversations about social injustice have always been a space for Jewish leaders to engage, but the gravity of the current situation has compelled many organizations to re-consider their strategies in communicating their position both sensitively and effectively. Steinreich Communications has been working with many Jewish nonprofits and institutions to find their right tone and our president & CEO would be happy to speak with you to share how others can navigate these important waters.
Stan Steinreich has been in the PR industry for nearly four decades, in various roles with the world’s largest PR firms before starting his own nearly 20 years ago. He counsels many of the country’s Jewish non-profits and thought leaders and has been helping them with their strategies on this issue.
“I think there is general agreement by everyone that what happened in Minneapolis was a horrific tragedy. Nobody disputes that. I think that, what we at least should try to remind our people in this conversation, is that George Floyd’s death should not be in vein and there’s a greater understanding that America needs to have when it comes to race relations and this is the wake-up call,” he said.
“By and large, Jewish organizations in the United States have commented on social justice issues for a very, very long time. Most of them are very supportive of the Floyd family and most of them also reflect an understanding that we have to do more in America in the area of race relations.”
On the connection to anti-Semitism, Steinreich said, “In the Jewish community we have to understand that anti-Semitism is a horrible thing. No question. But we have to be very, very careful not to equate our situation with that of the African-American community or, for that matter, any other community in the United States. I think the only solidarity that we can have is an understanding of what it’s like to be discriminated against, but only to a certain degree.”
“I think that we have to be very careful in not judging and also not saying that one situation is the same, worse, better, etc. That is very dangerous ground for us to take.”
The Jewish community has a “great record”, noted Steinreich, “and I think even today we’re seeing that as well, both on a local level as well as on a national level.”
“I think there’s a deep understanding that what happened to George Floyd is a greater message that we must as a society must address and must fix.”