New Castle Takes Stand Against Spate of Anti-Semitic Attacks
When a rash of anti-Semitic attacks erupted last month after the deadly fighting between Israel and Hamas, it was disturbing to most people.
What has been more troubling for many American Jews was that the hate incidents weren’t happening in a distant country but right here in the United States, including attacks in New York.
On Sunday, the Town of New Castle and its Holocaust & Human Rights Committee held an hour-long program at the gazebo in Chappaqua near the town’s Holocaust Memorial to denounce the rise in anti-Jewish bigotry and vowed to fight against all forms of hate.
“I never, ever imagined that I would find myself in New York in 2021 witnessing the horrific attacks we have seen against Jews here in the United States,” said Chappaqua resident Harriett Schleifer, the national president of the American Jewish Committee and one of the program’s speakers. “This is not Paris or Berlin; this is not 1933. This is 2021 in the greatest country in the world and yet we’ve seen an alarming rise in attacks on Jews simply because of our religion.”
The event, which attracted about 100 people, was spearheaded by Councilwoman Lisa Katz. Last Tuesday the entire Town Board approved a resolution to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism, the first municipality to do so, she said.
Katz said New Castle hasn’t escaped unscathed. Jewish children locally have felt uncomfortable as the events unfolded half a world away. She said the community, which prides itself on being inclusive, couldn’t be silent any longer.
“When acts of hatred, bigotry or violence occur, we understand it is an affront to everything we stand for,” Katz said. “Anti-Semitism in all its forms is contrary to the beliefs and values of our town and to all of us standing here today.”
Rabbi Aaron Brusso of Bet Torah in Mount Kisco said the Jewish community has been in pain since the rash of attacks. The anti-Semitic attacks happening so close to home has been a shocking experience for many who thought that by being in the United States they were largely protected.
“This is what Jews dealt with in other times and other places,” Brusso said. “This is America and America is supposed to be different. We were strangers in Egypt thousands of years ago, we were strangers in Spain in the 15th century, we were strangers in France in the 19th century. But in 21st century America we were home – or so we thought.”
The Anti-Defamation League reported that in May there were 305 anti-Semitic incidents in the United States, more than double for the same time frame last year. Of those incidents, 11 were assaults, while the rest were predominantly harassment and vandalism.
To help combat bigotry, people of different races, nationalities and religions must stand with one another. Dr. Mehnaz Afridi, the director of the Holocaust Genocide and Interfaith Education Center in the Bronx and a professor of Islamic studies at Manhattan College, said she has dedicated her life, as a Muslim woman, to fight anti-Semitism. She is also the first Muslim to lead a Holocaust Center in the United States.
“I come here today to say to you that I am here for you,” Afridi said. “That I stand by you, that this is a crucial point for Jewish-Muslim relations. This is a crucial time for us in America. Why? Because this is the only country in the world that has religious freedom.”
Afridi explained that even in other western democracies or in Pakistan where she was born, she “felt more othered.” But in the United States she has the freedom to travel or wear what she wants.
Assemblyman Chris Burdick (D-Bedford) said he helped secure a $30,000 state grant for the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center in White Plains, which does critically important work to help educate students and other about the Holocaust.
Inside Press Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Grace Bennett, a passionate local advocate who prominently spotlights antisemitism in her social media posts, was the final speaker of the event. An advisory board member with the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center, Bennett read a poem she wrote called “Antisemitism.” The event was made all the more emotional for Bennett because, as she read her poem, she was close enough to see the bench at the site dedicated two years ago to the memory of the father. Her father, Jacob Breitstein, who died two years ago, was a survivor of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp.
Bennett noted how she hopes the poem “challenges people to recognize that Antisemitism is a hate that can strike from any corner, and that we need to have zero tolerance for it no matter the source.”
“The silence sometimes is deafening,” Bennett also noted.
For local resident Gaye Altman, she said it was important for her to take time out of her day and attend Sunday’s program to display the unity that many of the speakers talked about.
“When someone taps you on the shoulder and says that this is something you have to do, you have to stand up, you have to be proactive and do all that you can to get hate and bigotry and anti a lot of things, this was very important, very important,” Altman said.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
