Jewish Federation: ‘This is antisemitism’
Following a Nov. 15 Dayton Daily News editorial lambasting Clayton mayoral candidate Joyce Deitering for her letter asking members of her church to support her because “it is the Catholic faith which you and I share that distinguishes me from my opponent,” community organizations have lined up to denounce Deitering’s tactics as divisive to the community.

During the mayoral race, Deitering, a lawyer and former Clayton City Council member, sent a letter to approximately 125 members of her parish, St. Paul Catholic Church, in Englewood.

In the letter, she also wrote, “Beneath the rhetoric of political campaigns we share the same Christian goals and values which guide all aspects of our lives. It is for this reason that I ask you to mark the best choice on the ticket for Clayton mayor and cast your ballot for Joyce Deitering.”

Her opponent in the race, retired Five Rivers MetroParks Executive Director Marvin Olinsky, is Jewish.

Because Deitering received only 18 votes more than Olinsky in the unofficial poll count on election day, the Montgomery County Election Commission recounted ballots along with the addition of provisional ballots and certified her as the winner of the race on Nov. 29 by 21 votes.

“No one questions Ms. Deitering’s right to attempt to urge those in her faith community to vote for her,” a Nov. 16 statement approved by the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton says.

“However, it is extremely disturbing that a candidate for public office would emphatically write that those of a particular religious group are more fit to serve in public office than those of another group. This is prejudice.”

The Federation’s statement adds that Deitering’s letter implies Olinsky “is not the best choice because he is Jewish. This is antisemitism.”

“It is troubling to see such blatant introduction of religion into a political campaign,” said Bettysue Feuer, the Cleveland-based regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.

“A mayor is elected for all the citizens, not just those who have special links — religious or otherwise — to a particular candidate,” she added.

According to the Jewish Federation, Clayton has 241 Jewish households, the highest concentration of Jewish households of any municipality in the Miami Valley.

The Dayton Region National Conference for Community and Justice issued a Nov. 16 statement urging Deitering to apologize “not only to members of the Jewish community who reside in Clayton, but to all faith communities across our region.”

NCCJ’s statement said that Deitering’s letter “sends a troubling message that is incompatible with building whole communities where all persons are respected and valued.”

“Deitering’s letter uses the language of division and isolation,” said Rena Neiger, director of the Dayton Jewish Community Relations Council. “Such bigotry has no place in our community.”

When asked to comment on the issue, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati —which oversees the Dayton area’s Roman Catholic parishes — declined.

Archdiocese Communications Office Director Dan Andriacco stated, “I do not believe it would be appropriate for me to comment on the actions of any particular political candidate in a partisan election.”

Despite repeated attempts to contact Deitering for this article, she did not return phone calls.
However, on her Web site, www.claytonmayor.com, Deitering has a link to a letter she sent to Dayton Daily News Editorial Page Editor Ellen Belcher on Nov. 11 in which Deitering defends the content of the letter she sent to her parish members.

In Deitering’s letter to Belcher, she writes that her parish letter “simply pointed out common values, similar to a common value such as fiscal conservatism or disapproval of the Towne Center Project. This is a custom revered in many circles, such as the African American churches. It would seem a shame that some now want to discriminate against Catholics participating in the same practices.”

She also writes to Belcher, “Frankly, I am quite surprised that the Dayton Daily News would sully itself by being pulled into an obviously partisan ploy to smear my integrity as the successful candidate.”

Olinsky first saw the parish letter in the days before the Nov. 8 election.

He said he felt Deitering’s letter was saying, “This Jew over here is not one of us. You want to vote for me.”

Olinsky said he has received numerous calls of support from Christians.

“The only thing I felt guilty of was being a Jew,” he said.