About a dozen neo-Nazis gathered in Phoenix April 17. It was a relatively uneventful 30 minutes of a few people marching around Eastlake Park and yelling racial slurs.
âGiven how precarious this situation could have been, this represents quite a victory against hate,â said Paul Rockower, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix.
Community leaders say the group came looking to spread its message, but the rally instead showed a community unified against hate.
The JCRC formed a coalition with 26 other groups â including the African American Christian Clergy Coalition, the Chinese American Citizens Alliance, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Arizona, the Valley Interfaith Project and the Phoenix Holocaust Association â to deny the neo-Nazis their goals of attention and amplification, Rockower said.