Long Island rabbis: Time to unite and fight bigotry, hatred
Rabbis across Long Island planned this weekend to tell their congregations that it is time to unite after the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre — and that congregants should not be afraid to attend services as synagogues beef up security.
The Shabbat services starting Friday at sunset and ending Saturday at sunset are the first since suspected gunman Robert Bowers allegedly killed 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue last Saturday morning.
Rabbi Steven Moss of the B’nai Israel synagogue in Oakdale said he planned to tell his congregation that “we need to affirm our commitment to our traditions, to our heritage, to be proud of it, and never ever to give in.”
“No one, no hateful person, from Adolf Hitler to Bowers, will never, ever destroy us and the values that we hold dear,” Moss said.
Rabbi Howard Buechler of the Dix Hills Jewish Center said his message will be that “now is a time to rally together to find solidarity and comfort, to find ways to dispel the darkness of hatred and anti-Semitism and bigotry.”
Referring to the Pittsburgh victims, he said, “This Shabbat and every Shabbat in the future we commit to filling their empty seats with love, prayers, hopes and action, to find ways to avoid the hatred that abounds in America today.”
Many synagogues expected to have people of other faiths attend their services as a sign of solidarity. That could also help alleviate some of the fears the Jewish faithful may feel about attending, said Rabbi Susie Moskowitz of Temple Beth Torah in Melville.
“If you are afraid, you still have to stand up and show up and come together, and you’re not alone,” she said. “The other members of Temple Beth Torah, our Christian friends, our Church of Latter-day Saints friends, our Muslim friends, will literally be sitting here with us tonight.”
Many rabbis said they were trying to balance the need for synagogues to remain open, friendly and welcoming places with the reality that houses of worship, along with schools, have become targets for bigoted or deranged people who can get their hands on guns.
And many said they have beefed up security since the Pittsburgh massacre, the worst terrorist attack against Jews in U.S. history.
“A synagogue, like any place of worship, wants to be seen in the community as open, embracing, friendly,” said Rabbi Charles Klein of the Merrick Jewish Centre. “Here the tenor of the times forces us to put ourselves into a cocoon.”
Klein said his congregation is increasing security, using grants from the federal Department of Homeland Security to replace glass entrance doors with more heavy-duty ones that could keep out attackers.
The center is also boosting the hours for its security personnel, among other measures.
“No one has said, ‘I am not coming to synagogue,’ but they are asking what are we doing to enhance our security,” Klein said. “And steps are being taken already.”
At Temple Beth Torah, for the first time there will be an armed security guard during services this weekend, Moskowitz said.
“We are saying, ‘Don’t be afraid,’ but you don’t have to be naive either,” Moskowitz said. “We want to make sure everyone is protected and feels safe.”
Klein, Moskowitz, Moss and others said police in Nassau and Suffolk are working closely with synagogues to provide extra security. Both departments said they have increased patrols since last weekend's attack.
Moss said he had full faith in the Suffolk County Police Department to handle any terrorist attacks against synagogues but is wrestling with the balance between security and a welcoming environment.
“All houses of worship have to remain houses of worship for everyone,” he said. “If you start having metal detectors or armed guards vetting people before they come in, or ID cards or whatever, who is going to want to worship anymore?”
Buechler of Dix Hills said: “Ultimately people who are filled with hatred and violence, their goal is to terrorize others into feeling unsafe. Our goal is to say, ‘You will not control our destiny. We will feel safe.’”
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