Monday, October 29, 2018
Amid hate, Rockland and Westchester will stand up for neighbors
As news unfolded of yet another hate-fueled attack — this time at a Pittsburgh synagogue — local police agencies readied to protect the homefront. In Rockland County, in Westchester, all around New York, police agencies ensured that our neighbors were protected.
Before noon, Clarkstown and Ramapo police posted on social media that they were increasing visibility at Jewish houses of worship throughout their towns. Both are home to a large and diverse Jewish community, from Reform and Conservative synagogues to Hasidic and Orthodox shuls of all sizes and sorts, some just big enough for a minyan.
In Westchester, an alert was sent out by phone, text and email messages to 150 synagogues and Jewish organizations warning of a possible threat.
Nearly one third of Rockland's population is Jewish; New York has the largest Jewish population in the world outside Israel, with more than 1.7 million Jewish residents.
No matter the size or style of a synagogue, on the sabbath, doors would be open to any and all who wanted to worship.
Such attacks appear more frequent and, with social media, news (factual or not) and the details spread fast. We worry about a contagion. Will the mail bombs spur other people harboring hate? Will an act that targets a religious group — and a trail of viciousness spewed in social media comments by the alleged perpetrator — feed such violence?
We've seen anti-Semitic graffiti and heard snide comments here. We've also seen a community response that shows unity and support among our diverse communities.
Terrorism is not a new invention, especially in this region. So many of our neighbors were killed on 9/11 and so many continue to fall ill and succumb to the deadly toxins created in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks' aftermath. A Suffern man was killed during the 1993 World Trade Center attack. Sandy Hook sits just miles over the Connecticut border from Westchester. We just marked the 37th anniversary of the Brinks heist that left a trail of death from Nanuet and Nyack when radical Weather Underground members' armored-car robbery turned into a bloody shootout through what was then relatively bucolic Rockland.
We've seen it happen at churches and synagogues and mosques; at a baseball field where members of Congress just wanted time to relax, bond, play. In Charleston. In Sutherland Springs. In Las Vegas. In Orlando. At a Kentucky grocery store.
Meanwhile, the "whataboutism" — pointing out hypocrisy before hearing what's said — will keep coming, for now. And it will keep getting us nowhere. Let's hope that stops soon and we can figure out how to differ with people and still model respect.
That's a skill that's more rare by the day, it seems.
The lesson here is what our local first responders did: They acted to protect people who were immediately at risk. They stood up for strangers, and neighbors.
Yes, first responders are a special breed — they rush toward danger as others run away. Nowadays, we all need to be first responders for civility and decency.
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