Exclusive: Sen. Bernie Moreno blasts County Council for caving to anti-Semitic protests, potentially threatens federal funding

“Are you aware that Cuyahoga County received approximately 13 percent of its entire budget from federal funding,” Sen. Bernie Moreno wrote to the council president.

Feb 05, 2025

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R., Ohio) wants answers from the Cuyahoga County Council following a controversial meeting during which anti-Semitic “protesters shrieked so loudly that the Pledge of Allegiance was rendered inaudible,” as the Buckeye State’s senior senator wrote to Democrat Dale Miller, the County Council President.

In a letter first obtained by the Washington Reporter, Moreno wrote to Miller that he has “deep concerns about [Miller’s] inability to lead a public meeting without hateful harassment and disruption.”

At issue specifically is a January 28 meeting during which the County Council initially planned to vote on a resolution that would have endorsed the county’s boycott of Israel bonds, which critics noted is anti-Semitic.

Throughout the meeting, Moreno noted, Miller “completely failed to maintain decorum, allowing speakers to spew antisemitic profanities and for Jewish attendees to be subjected to hateful attacks such as being told to ‘go die.’”

While the council ultimately watered down the measure to refer to all foreign entities, Moreno wants more answers. “Are you aware that Cuyahoga County received approximately 13 percent of its entire budget from federal funding?” he wrote.

Moreno also wants Miller to answer whether “an attendee scream[ing] antisemitic slurs,” “an attendee's screams render[ing] the Pledge of Allegiance inaudible,” and whether an “attendee screams obscenities and profanities” violate the council’s rules.

Miller has five days to answer Moreno’s questions, but it’s not clear that much can placate Moreno’s criticisms.

“Frankly, I lost count of how many times Council Rules were violated during the January 28, 2025 meeting,” Moreno wrote. “Confoundingly, I failed to hear when you even once attempted to enforce the rules…It sure sounds like more than just [one council rule] was violated on January 28, 2025 at the expense of the safety and wellbeing of Jewish attendees.”