Your editorial claiming to point “a way forward” does nothing of the sort. By singling out Orthodox Jews for special attention, you have aligned yourselves with the bigoted, anti-Semitic approach of Steve Markowitz.
Posing as disinterested, you say “the role played by observant Orthodox and Persian Jews in Great Neck has been an issue in several recent elections”. As the 2015 Markowitz email reveals, it has certainly been an issue to him and his cronies.
The “concerns” you cite are red herrings.
If anything, the growth of the Orthodox and Persian communities have contributed to the vitality of the Great Neck community. IT should be obvious that the multitude of vacancies on Middle Neck Road are not a consequence of anyone’s Sabbath observance.
There is no evidence supporting the canard that Orthodox Jews oppose the school budget. Nik Kron, a Great Neck Synagogue member who ran for the School Board, sent his children to the public schools and advocated voting for the budget.
Moreover, the religious schools receive various benefits from the Public Schools of a non-religious nature. It’s the law of the land. I attended Great Neck South. (“71″) When my children attended a religious school, I supported the public schools, and I still do.
I didn’t want to respond to Markowitz’s tepid apology, but must take issue with your implication that his 2015 email was only directed at ‘right wing” Orthodox Jews – as if that would have been okay.
Attacks on Orthodox Jews, regardless of political affiliation, are anti-Semitic, plain and simple. A person who engages in such attacks for political gain should never hold an official position with an institution promoting tolerance and Holocaust remembrance.
Your attempt to connect the Great Neck election to Washington politics evinces your affliction with Trump Derangement Syndrome.
Robert Spitalnick
Great Neck
