Coming together in the Five Towns to battle anti-Semitism

Federal, state, county and village representatives along with rabbinical leaders and several others crowded in Cedarhurst Village Hall on Jan. 3 to denounce the recent attacks on Jewish people last month.

The 13 attacks have ranged from a Queens man  verbally abusing and phyiscally threatening three people, including a rabbi and an 11-year-old in the North Lawrence Costco on Dec. 8, three victims being killed in a Jersey City kosher supermarket and a Jersy City police officer being killed and five people being stabbed in upstate Monsey on Dec. 28, during a  Hanukkah party at a rabbi’s house.

Saying that the Five Towns is close to her heart, Rep. Kathleen Rice, a Democrat who represents the Five Towns, joined with her House of Representative colleagues Republicans Peter King and Lee Zeldin and Dems Tom Suozzi and Gregory Meeks to create a united front. Zeldin, who served in the military and is a reservist, is Jewish.

"Unfortunately we are here today in the Five Towns due to a disturbing spike in ant-Semitic incidents that has plagued our community for the past several weeks," Rice said. "I am here to provide reassurance in the strongest possible terms that we will do everything we can at the federal, state and local levels of government because we are all New Yorkers and an attack on one religious, racial or ethnic group is an attack on all of us."

Rice noted that through the federal nonprofit security grant program, $1.7 million for 17 Jewish organizations, synagogues and schools in the 4th C.D. was secured in 2019.

Along with that, $75 million could be available nationwide should President Donal Trump sign the  Strengthen Security Act against Terrorism bill that passed both the House and Senate. Rice also noted proposed legislation, the Never Again Education Act, a bipartisan bill to expand Holocaust education training and resources for teachers across the country.

State Assemblywoman Melissa "Missy" Miller (R-Atlantic Beach)  said that when the State Legislature returns next week she will be introducing legislation to attack the problem.

"[It] will add those offenses catergoized under New York State Penal Law as hate crimes as a qualifying offense," she said. "Meaning the judge would have the discretion and the ability to set bail when someboy is charge with a hate crime."

Rabbi Kenneth Hain, the leader of Congregation Beth Sholom in Lawrence, said that this " a very daunting erev Shabbat (before the Sabbath) for all of us."

"Our congregations and our schools are expending enormous amounts of resources to keep our congregants or students safe," he said. "We need more. It is clearly a different time. The threat is greater. It can’t be business as usual. We need more resources We need to eliminate the fear that many of our congregants have."

County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said bias crimes in Nassau have doubled in the past year and his police force is ready. "We will react to it and we will make arrests," he said, referring to any hate crimes that are committed. "It is time to step up up, tell the police and let the experts do what we do. "   

King and Meeks echoed the theme of standing together and an attack on one person is an attack on all.

"We must speak out against anti-Semitism," King said. "Anti-Semitism is not just an attack upon Jews it’s an attack on all Americans."

It is extremely important that we all come together," Meeks said. "There is a cancer that is going on in our city, our state, on the Island and in our country. We got to cut it out. Acts of anti-Semitism are  not just against the Jewish community, it's an attack on all Americans, all humans."

Continuing the call for unity Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said that on Sunday, Jan. 12 there will be a solidarity march at 3 p.m. at the intersection of County Seat Drive and 11th Street in Mineola.