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Breezey Point resort fi ghts anti-Semitism
Simon Wiesenthal Center joins effort to combat hate crime attack at beach club
HELPING HANDS
Jamaica Hospital Medical Center celebrated Thanksgiving by inviting everyone in the community
to its first “Friendsgiving” dinner. The hospital’s employees donated food and volunteered their
time to host the event at Jamaica Hospital’s Family Medicine Center in Richmond Hill.
Courtesy of Jamaica Hospital
BY BILL PARRY
The Simon Wiesenthal
Center sent representatives to
meet with the National Park
Service and Ortega National
Parks to announce a critical
partnership to combat anti-
Semitism and hate in response
to the Labor Day hate crime at
the Silver Gull Beach Club in
Breezy Point.
In September, authorities
found Holocaust-related graffiti
like swastikas and “gas
chamber” references at the resort’s
playground, which they
closed during the last week of
the beach season.
The three organizations unveiled
their jointly developed
plan that can serve as a model
program for a no-tolerance
policy towards such displays
of hatred at NPS/Ortega parks
and in other jurisdictions.
“We hope this plan serves
as a national model and
springboard for other community
spaces around the
country to proactively enforce
a no-tolerance policy toward
any incidents of anti-Semitism
and hatred,” Simon Wiesenthal
Center Associate Dean
and Advocacy Director Rabbi
Abraham Cooper said. “There
is no room for this kind of
bigotry in our parks, or anywhere.”
The organizations agreed
to send an annual delegation
to the Simon Wiesenthal Museum
of Tolerance in Los Angeles
to engage in a multi-day
training course to increase
preparedness for seasonal employees
on the areas of diversity,
cultural sensitivity, and
proper training for combating
hate in their facilities and
properties.
“We look forward to working
with Ortega National
Parks and the Simon Wiesenthal
Center to ensure that we
are providing a safe, welcoming,
and inclusive environment
for all visitors,” Gateway
National Recreation Area Superintendent
Jen Nersesian
said. “Gateway is a national
park, here for all people. Hate
has no place at our sites and
runs counter to the values for
which we stand.”
The Simon Wiesenthal
Center’s Courage to Remember
exhibit will be displayed
during the opening weeks of
the 2020 season at Silver Gull
Beach Club and Breezy Point
Surf Club. This exhibit shows
the timeline of the Holocaust
and demonstrates the underpinnings
through the growth
of unchecked hate.
“The fact these images were
discovered means that there is
a systematic attempt to intimidate
this community,” Assemblywoman
Stacey Pheffer Amato
said. “We must continue to
demonstrate that our love and
commitment is stronger than
any attempt to instill fear and
promote hate. I look forward
to standing with all of these
organizations against bigotry
and intolerance.”
The organizations will also
hold a series of town hall meeting
for all Silver Gull members.
More than 130 attended
the first meeting on Nov. 25 at
the beach club.
“I am pleased to see the investigation
into the horrific
hate symbols and words that
were found in and around the
Gateway National Recreation
Area in Rockaway is ongoing
and that collaborative efforts
are underway to address the
need to reduce these types of
criminal activity,” State Senator
Joseph Addabbo, Jr. said.
“Usually, there is minimal
follow upon incidents such as
this, so it’s refreshing to hear
updates about this situation.
I would also like to thank all
those involved in the educational
campaign aimed at
raising awareness about hate
speech and hate symbols that
came out of this terrible incident.
Educating the youth and
others that these words and
symbols means we can go a
long way in rooting out hate in
our communities.”
Vol. 7, No. 49 48 total pages
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