YOUNGSTOWN — Fears about rising antisemitism, community safety and growing political division dominated a town hall Thursday as members of the Ohio Jewish Caucus met with local residents at the Jewish Community Center in Youngstown.

The Youngstown Area Jewish Federation and the Ohio Jewish Caucus co-hosted an hour-long town hall panel discussion on various issues affecting the Jewish community Thursday at the Jewish Community Center.

The panel included four of the six members of the Ohio Jewish Caucus: members Sen. Casey Weinstein of Hudson in Summit County, Minority Whip Rep. Beryl Brown Piccolantonio of Gahanna in Franklin County, Rep. Karen Brownlee of Hamilton in Symmes Township and Rep. Eric Synenberg of Beachwood.

More than 50 people attended the event and had the opportunity to ask questions of the panel.

Weinstein said the caucus focuses on many issues, including combating antisemitism and supporting Israel.

“We view ourselves as ambassadors for the Jewish people, and we want to be in tune with what your issues and concerns are,” he said.

Piccolantonio said the common issue the panel has heard as they travel across the state is a fear of the Jewish people not being accepted as part of their communities, fear for safety, and fear of perceptions and not being understood.

“These are the issues we have heard in the many communities we have been in. The main issue is the concern of the rise in antisemitism coming from both the extreme right and the extreme left,” she said.

Piccolantonio, who has been a lawyer, said it is important to get through any forms of hate by bringing people together and meeting and speaking face to face.

“Our job as legislators is to not legislate on behalf of only one value system, but it is to legislate for all people. Being visible at the state level does help,” she said.

Weinstein said the caucus works hard to get funds across the state to help fight antisemitism and also allow students to visit Holocaust museums.

“We are being proactive to educate young people about antisemitism,” he said.

Weinstein said he and others worked for the passage of the Campus Act to combat antisemitism and hate on college campuses, and college campus protests have died down in recent months.

Weinstein said House Bill 87 was passed in the Ohio Senate against antisemitism and hostile physical acts against different groups, including Jewish people.

Synenberg said security has become a concern for many temples, schools and other places due to the rise in antisemitism.

He praised the JCC as a gathering place for all people in the community, both Jewish and non-Jewish.

Brownlee, who has worked as a social worker and in mental health, said she and others work hard to make sure the state capital budget has funding to support special projects that benefit Jewish communities and schools.

“The six of us have the opportunity to be able to work together on many things we agree upon,” she said.

“I am extremely proud to be a Jew and have a great deal of hope for our future. We are a very resilient crew, and we can persevere. We have to work together. It is important to build bridges with other community members,” Brownlee said.

Weinstein told those at the event the six-member Ohio Jewish Caucus serves as “the Jewish communities’ voices at the state level.”

“We have your backs even though we may not be your state representatives; we have your voices at the state level,” Weinstein said.

“When we travel across the state, we listen to the issues that are on your minds and what you want us to work on at the state level,” Piccolantonio said.

She said working together is important in the “turbulent times we are in.”

Also part of the six-member Ohio Jewish Caucus but unable to attend were Rep. Dani Issacohn of Cincinnati and Rep. Christine Cockley of Columbus.