Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on January 2, 2020

State troopers have increased patrols in Kiryas Joel and sheriff's deputies have visited the main synagogue in the Satmar Hasidic village to recommend improved security measures in the wake of deadly attacks on Hasidic Jews in Jersey City and Monsey.

The synagogue tour took place on Monday, two days after five people were stabbed in a rabbi's home in Monsey, but already had been arranged after the Dec. 10 shooting at a kosher market in Jersey City. Kiryas Joel officials asked the Orange County Sheriff's Office for a security assessment after that incident, and also have broached the possibility of hiring deputies to be stationed in the village.

State Police spokesman Steven Nevel said Tuesday that troopers had raised their visibility in Kiryas Joel by driving through the village more often and making occasional stops there on their patrols. He said the purpose was both to deter any would-be attackers and to reassure people in the community that we're here law enforcement is on your side.

The horrific attack in Rockland County, which took place during a Hanukkah celebration, followed a spate of other anti-Semitic assaults in the New York City area and escalated demands for stronger security and efforts to combat anti-Semitism. Sen. Charles Schumer has proposed a steep increase in federal funding for security upgrades at houses of worship and at nonprofits, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo has suggested punishing major hate crimes as acts of terrorism.

Anti-Semitic assaults in New York increased from 11 in 2017 to 17 in 2018, a 55 percent rise, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Alexander Rosemberg, director of communications for the ADL's New York-New Jersey region, said Tuesday that he expected a similar jump in cases in 2019 once the ADL has verified the most recent incidents.

In just the last eight days, 11 anti-Semitic assaults and acts of harassment had been reported in New York and New Jersey, Rosemberg said. They included vicious assaults on Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn that have been recorded on surveillance cameras and broadcast on Twitter, sparking outrage and calls for further action.

Ever since vandals desecrated a Jewish cemetery in the Village of Florida in 2016, the Orange County District Attorney's Office has worked with Jewish Federation of Greater Orange County to combat bigotry in several ways: creating a hate-crimes hotline, holding school assemblies, distributing anti-hate brochures, training police and assigning an investigator and prosecutor to handle hate crimes.

District Attorney David Hoovler said this week that he sees ongoing tension in Orange County over its growing Hasidic community, largely related to housing development and bloc-voting. I'm not calling it blatant anti-Semitism, but the tension is there, Hoovler said.

He argued the most effective way to defuse that tension or not inflame it was by choosing carefully the words used in public statements and working with people in small groups, where they are more likely to listen to one another. Young people have proven to be most receptive to that education, he said. Hoovler also advocated cultivating relationships to bridge the Hasidic community and its neighbors.

You can talk until you're blue in the face, but the only way you're going to make any strides with it is in small groups, he said.

Yossi Gestetner, an Orthodox community activist from Rockland County, said elected officials in Orange and Rockland could improve relations simply by going to Hasidic community events and publicizing their attendance in Facebook photos, just as they do with any other constituents. They could still disagree with the Hasidic community on municipal matters without distancing themselves for political reasons and thereby dehumanizing the community, he argued.

Show the hell up, and make it known that you showed up, said Gestetner, co-founder of the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council. It's as simple as that.

Harvey Kallus, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orange County, said his organization has spoken to congregations about increasing security since the recent attacks. Already, he said, many of those synagogues have cameras and speakers at their entrances to let people in, and hire private security guards or police officers to provide protection during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Kallus said the federation was concerned about recent reports of anti-Semitic remarks being directed at students in schools.

It's more than just an isolated incident here and there, he said.

Read the rest here:
Steps being taken to tighten security in Kiryas Joel - Times Herald-Record

Category: Anti-Defamation League
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