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Controversial Headline Performer, Safety Concerns Cited as Reasons for Withdrawal
By Karen Pearlman
June 7, 2025 (San Diego) – Many local Jewish organizations from across San Diego County that have traditionally been part of the annual San Diego Pride event will not be joining in this year.
Jewish community leaders say that because the Pride Festival chose musical artist Kehlani to be a headliner at the annual July festival, there will be no official, organized Jewish presence there.
According to a media release shared last week from the Jewish Federation of San Diego, the groups and synagogues that will not be participating in San Diego Pride include the Federation, ADL-San Diego, Lawrence Family JCC, Temple Emanu-El of San Diego, Congregation Dor Hadash, Congregation Beth Israel of San Diego, Congregation Tifereth Israel Synagogue and Temple Adat Shalom of Poway.
It also includes the festival’s current volunteer director of medical operations and assistant director of medical operations, Dr. Jennifer Anger and Eliyahu Cohen-Mizrahi. Both individuals are Jewish and have also stepped away from their roles with Pride.
Heidi Gantwerk (photo, right) president and CEO of Jewish Federation of San Diego, wrote on her Facebook page on June 6: “I have loved being a part of San Diego Pride, but this year I stand with our entire Jewish Community, and will not be participating. This is a painful choice, especially for the 16% of Jewish households with at least one member of the LGBTQIA+ community. But SD Pride has made a choice, and unless they deplatform Kehlani, our Jewish community is neither safe nor welcome.”
San Diego Pride 2025 runs from Wednesday, July 16 through Sunday, July 20, with the main events taking place on Saturday, July 19 and Sunday, July 20 in Balboa Park. This year’s theme is “Unbreakable Pride, Unshakeable Power,” honoring the enduring spirit of the LGBTQIA+ community and its allies, drawing inspiration from the 1969 Stonewall Uprising.
Kehlani, who is scheduled to perform July 19, has repeatedly amplified violent antisemitic rhetoric, Federation leadership explained in a press release, and so all participating Jewish organizations and synagogues — many of which have marched with, volunteered for or supported Pride for years — are withdrawing from the 2025 event due to safety concerns.
This decision comes after The Finest Community Coalition released a statement last month, signed by nearly three dozen Jewish organizations, including Federation, urging San Diego Pride to reconsider giving Kehlani a platform.
That appeal has thus far gone unanswered, Federation officials say, and as a result, “there will be no organized Jewish presence this year.”
Kehlani’s Polarizing Messages
The Federation says that by moving forward with Kehlani (photo, left), San Diego Pride is communicating to LGBTQIA+ Jewish San Diegans that they are unwelcome and unsafe at this year’s event.
Recent events have shown that when antisemitic rhetoric is normalized and given a platform, it can all too easily lead to violence against Jews such as in the recent domestic terror attacks in Boulder, Colorado, and Washington, D.C. Both acts of violence were carried out by assailants who echoed similar hateful rhetoric as Kehlani, Federation officials say.
Gantwerk said Pride should be a celebration of inclusion and solidarity, “not a platform for divisive voices that incite hatred and violence.”
“As we’ve seen in D.C. and Boulder, when antisemitism is ignored or tolerated, it fuels a culture that leads to violence. We cannot wait for tragedy to strike our own community — again — before we act,” she said.
Singer and songwriter Kehlani has emerged as one of the most outspoken voices in the music industry in support of Palestinians during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which began following the attacks by the terrorist group Hamas on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Kehlani, who uses they/them pronouns, has consistently used their platform to call attention to the suffering of civilians in Gaza, urging fans and fellow artists to speak out.
The music video for Kehlani's song “Next 2 U” features the words “Long live the intifada” at the start, a phrase that can imply violence toward the Jewish community.
Kehlani has also shared posts and made statements online that have been interpreted as expressing anti-Israel and potentially antisemitic views. They have shared a map on social media that eliminates Israel and has written that Zionists are “scum of the earth.”
Zionism is a movement rooted in the belief that Jews are a nation and have a right to self-determination and a national home in their ancestral homeland.
In 2023, Kehlani joined a group of public figures in signing an open letter demanding a ceasefire and the lifting of Israel’s blockade on the Gaza Strip. Their advocacy continued into 2024, taking to social media to amplify Palestinian voices and calling on fellow musicians to take a public stand and show solidarity with Gazans.
Kehlani has pushed back at claims they had expressed antisemitic and anti-Israel sentiments.
Nicole Murray Ramirez (photo, right), a co-founder of San Diego Pride, spoke last week at Temple Emanu-El at a Town Hall Meeting about Kehlani’s appearance. Murray Ramirez later took to social media to note that the synagogue in Del Cerro was one of the first religious organizations “to march in our parade when so many wouldn't -- almost over 30 years ago.”
Murray Ramirez wrote that Kehlani “has even called for the deaths of ‘All Zionists’” and that the Jewish community “has had enough of this Antisemitism. Hate Crimes against the Jewish Community in San Diego (have) been continuing rising every year.”
About Kehlani’s appearance at the coming Pride Festival, Murray Ramirez wrote, “This is not about freedom of speech this is about HATE SPEECH!!”
Pride Answers Back; SD Mayor Will Skip 2025 Event
The Board of Directors of San Diego Pride’s Board issued a statement last week that recognizes the Jewish community’s choice to avoid the event, while defending the group’s entertainment pick.
“We respect our local Jewish community’s decision not to participate in San Diego Pride’s programming this year,” the statement reads. “Each member of our community must make their own decision about attending this year’s events, but we hope everyone will come out as a sign of solidarity for our queer community.
“San Diego Pride does not endorse or adopt the political positions of any individual performer. Rather, we honor the value of artistic integrity, the importance of free expression, and the role that artists play in shaping culture, challenging systems, and amplifying voices while respecting each other’s differences.”
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria (photo, left), the city’s first openly gay mayor, said he would not be attending this year’s Pride event.
In a letter to Kristin Flickinger, interim executive director at San Diego Pride, and shared with members of the media, Gloria explained that his office has received “an overwhelming number of calls and e-mails regarding (Kehlani), who has used regrettable and controversial rhetoric on social media about the Jewish community.”
Gloria said members of the Jewish community in San Diego have expressed deep hurt and disappointment, and said that understanding their concerns, he would not be attending this year’s festival.
“San Diego Pride is a cherished celebration of inclusion, progress and the resilience of our LGBTQ+ community. It should be a space where everyone – regardless of background, belief, or identity – feels safe and welcome,” Gloria wrote.
He said it is important to him as the mayor of San Diego “to reiterate my deep concerns for the safety of all attendees at this year’s Pride Parade and Festival,” and said that Kehlani’s performance may lead to demonstrations, and that “we must be prepared.”
Gloria wrote, “I will not accept lawlessness or chaos at the Parade or Festival. The safety of all attendees and nearby residents is paramount,” and mentioned a need to work with the San Diego Police Department “to ensure robust safety plans are in in place as well as a reassuring presence throughout the entire event.”
Gloria also reached out to the Finest Community Coalition, a group founded earlier this year to unite Jewish and non-Jewish leaders, organizations and community members to combat antisemitism and promote unity in the region.
The coalition was formed in response to a significant rise in antisemitic incidents following the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel.
The coalition is a collaborative platform coordinating strategies, sharing best practices and responding collectively to rising antisemitism.
In a letter to the group, Gloria wrote that he was assured by San Diego Pride “that they will be increasing security and implementing new safety procedures.”
He also told the coalition that “San Diego Pride has shared that they have revised their contract with the selected headliner to prevent (Kehlani) from engaging in political speech.”
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