Update – Toms River Rabbis Speak Out Against BlueClaws Protest

A controversy went viral this week in Ocean County, as an outspoken rabbi in Lakewood condemned the Lakewood BlueClaws Pride Night this coming Saturday (June 8th) and called for a protest of the ballclub.

But, the response to Rabbi Yehuda Levin's calls to protest have been met with almost universal condemnation, including from a group of Toms River rabbis.

First, if you take a look at our coverage of Levin's calls to protest, we received dozens of comments from WOBM listeners supporting the BlueClaws and calling Levin's motives into question.

And today, a group of rabbis from Toms River's Congregation B'nai Israel spoke out against Levin.

According to Patch.com, Rabbi William Gershon, Rabbi Richard Hammerman, and Rabbi Emeritus, and president Philip I. Brilliant issued a statement calling Levin's protest, "...an ill-founded attack on personal freedom and individual rights, and universal acceptance of minorities."

The statement went on to call the protest what many see it as, discrimination:

"We cannot tolerate arbitrary discrimination against millions of Americans just because of who they are. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people should be able to earn a living, provide for their families and contribute to society without fear that who they are or who they love could cost them a job,"

You can read the full text of Congregation B'nai Israel's statement by clicking here for the Patch article.

You can also read our previous coverage, including video from Yehuda Levin and the text of the protest flyer by clicking here.