Thursday, July 24, 2025
After Fallsburg egg-throwing incident, we must all stand against antisemitism
When eggs were allegedly thrown at Hasidic Jews standing in front of a synagogue in the eastern Sullivan County hamlet of Woodbourne and walking along nearby Route 42 in the Town of Fallsburg, the official reaction to the recent incident was as it should have been: swift and unequivocal.
"It is outrageous that in Sullivan County Jews are being attacked at or near their house of worship solely because of their religion," said lawyer Jacob Billig of the newly formed Sullivan County Coalition Against Antisemitism.
"Clearly antisemitic ... inexcusable in every way," said Sullivan County Legislature Chair Nadia Rajsz.
"I ... unequivocally denounce these hateful actions," said Ramone Wilson, executive director of the Sullivan County Human Rights Commission.
"Antisemitism has no place in our community or anywhere …" said Assembly member Paula Kay. "I urge everyone to speak out with me against antisemitism whenever and wherever it appears."
But in normally sleepy Sullivan, where the county's population of about 79,000 triples in the summer thanks in large part to the influx of Hasidim, the public condemnation wasn't as widespread as it should have been. In fact, some comments were despicable — focusing on the Hasidim and their behavior in Sullivan rather than the antisemitic acts of egg throwing. Unfortunately, these online comments reflect the sentiments of many Jews and non-Jews in Sullivan, many of whom stress they are not antisemitic.
"Can you blame someone for throwing eggs at a terrible driver? Not saying I condone it, but … ," wrote one man.
"Everything they do is in the name of religion," writes another. "Anything happens to them, it's antisemitic?"
If you live in Sullivan like I do, you know main roads like Routes 17, 17B, 42 and 55 are way more crowded in July and August. So are stores like Walmart, which is why many locals shop on the Jewish Sabbath, Saturday. And because the Hasidim are so noticeable, with long beards and black and white clothes, they stand out — which makes it easier to blame them for just about anything, even if there are plenty of bad drivers and rude shoppers who aren't Hasidic.
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