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YOUNGSTOWN -- The Jewish Community Center of Youngstown hosted its third annual Chalk Over Hate event Friday to combat increasing antisemitism and the sadness from the Israel-Hamas war.
Adults and children gathered to chalk peaceful messages and come together as a community, according to Barbara Wilson, director of cultural arts, Israel and Jewish engagement for the JCC.
"It's a program to get people to talk about messages of peace, love, hope, equity (and) anything that makes people feel like they are going to be together," she said. "The goal is to use art to promote these positive messages, and what we're trying to do is show that these positive messages are much more meaningful than those hateful messages."
Wilson said the event originated to combat antisemitic graffiti.
"There are 853 reported acts of antisemitic vandalism," she said.
Sara Lee, the art teacher at the Jewish Community Center, helped to teach the kids how to do chalk art.
"I showed them how to do multiple layers and smooth it out and I encouraged them to do what they're inspired to do," she said.
Nicholas Bush, development and community relations manager for the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation, said that antisemitism has increased over the "last several years" and has increased since the war between Israel and Hamas started.
"People are afraid and it's (antisemitism) gotten worse since Saturday (and) I think people are more afraid," he said. "But we are a very safe community; (it's) safe to come here. Even though they're afraid, they still want to be together and they're not afraid to be together."
He said the war put the Chalk over Hate event into a different perspective this year.
"Every Jewish person knows somebody in Israel, whether they're friends or family, and people are worried about their loved ones and friends," he said. "The whole community has been here for each other. (There's) a lot of crying, but it's crying as a community and being in a community is the most important thing right now."
Bush's friend in Israel is fighting in the war.
"I am in contact with my friend in Israel every single day," he said. "He is an Iron Dome commander. He is worried about his country but he's proud to be an Israeli, proud to be a Jew and he's very proud to be fighting for his country right now."
Wilson said the campaign was started by a group called Artists 4 Israel, which helps people overcome antisemitic trauma through art. It also works to "prevent he spread of anti-Israel bigotry," according to its website.
She said the JCC couldn't host the event during nonviolence week because of the weeklong Jewish holiday Sukkot, so they held it afterward.