Peabody Rabbi Says He Was Target Of Anti-Semitic Slurs

PEABODY, MA —A Peabody rabbi is claiming that he and a colleague were the target of anti-Semitic slurs while walking on Lowell Street Saturday afternoon. In a lengthy Facebook post, Nechemia Schusterman, the director and rabbi at Chabad of Peabody, said he and Rabbi Sruli Baron of Tobin Bridge Chabad were heading to the Peabody Bike path when a man driving a pickup truck made an obscene hand gesture and yelled "[expletive deleted]ing Jews" at them. The man then threw a penny out the truck window at the two rabbis.

"A moment later, he throws a penny out of his window and shouted another anti-Semitic slur something to the effect of “go pick up the penny F**ing Jew'," Schusterman wrote on a Facebook post that has been widely circulated and had more than 265 comments by Tuesday afternoon. "Now, I am not unaccustomed to people yelling things to me from the safety of a driving vehicle that I cannot catch up to. However, the angry and hateful vitriolic tenor was new and quite upsetting."

Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt called the incident "despicable."

"The incident described by Rabbi Shusterman is an act of hate pure and simple. As Mayor, I ask our entire community to come together to condemn such despicable words and actions," Bettencourt wrote. "We offer our support for Rabbi Shusterman and Rabbi Baron and we pledge to stand together with the Jewish community in the face of such hatred. The City of Peabody is and will continue to be a welcoming community which values inclusion, tolerance, and respect for all."

Bettencourt said the city had been working with the Peabody Clergy and Ministerial Association for a planned unity event in June, but the incident needed a more immediate response." He said the association and the city "will have an announcement soon."

Schusterman, who wrote in his post, "I look Jewish and I am proud of it," said the truck was part of a group of three or four pickup trucks. It had red hubcaps and, like the other trucks, a modified muffler. He said it is not the first time he and his family have been targeted by drivers driving by.

"My main reason for posting this is to bring awareness to the hate in our community (or at least driving through our streets) and if you know of that caravan of trucks, please report them," he wrote. "To you Mr. Pickup truck driver...Next time you have something to say to me, pull over and say it to my face. I want to see if you are still so brave. I actually don’t hate you, I am mostly sad for you. Mend your ways and I will forgive you."

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).