Tolerance and political correctness

When I spoke at a town council meeting last week, I stated that we need to stop using the term “tolerance.” Our town is not tolerant. In Mahwah, our residents are a true community, that embraces and welcomes families from several socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds.

Our mayor wrote a brilliantly written article where he stated that in Mahwah, “all people, regardless of economic standing, religious belief or sexual orientation, are embraced in the community of Mahwah.” I appreciate the fact that the mayor used the word “embraced” rather than tolerant, as they are not synonymous. Embracement is a two-way street and for those of us who live in Mahwah, we enjoy sharing in our lives together. However, other than good PR, what did the mayor’s article achieve? Where is the article that proves he is fighting for us? Isn’t he our leader? Where’s the leadership?

In Mahwah, NJ, we are fighting for the soul of our town. But what’s more, almost every county/community in the immediate proximity to Mahwah (Rockland, Monroe, Lakewood, Upper Saddle River, Jersey City, etc.) is sharing in a similar struggle. After it was discovered that Eruvin(1) were installed in the town, residents were quick to come together in opposition, citing that they were (believed to be) installed illegally and should be taken down. However, some folks were quick to jump to false conclusions- that the objection from residents was not genuine and instead, was nothing more than an attempt to claim that the underlying issue was not one of enforcing existing town ordinances but rather, a demonstration of anti-Semitism.

Let’s get this out of the way first: I 100% believe that the bigger concern is what the eruvin represent in the minds of residents - an unwelcome promise of what’s to come. Despite this, it is outright and indisputably untrue to assert that this fear is the result of anti-Semitism. Political correctness achieves nothing and elected officials need to realize that they cannot legislate away hate. They need to stand up as leaders as it is to the detriment of society that folks are told they must walk around, pretending that events and changes aren’t occurring in their communities (and elsewhere), simply because of the optics that might be projected. The result is an ill-informed public and incomplete or untrue information being spread around. Therefore, I wanted to share some history and facts to help draw clarity for these folks who may not realize what we are up against. I am not trying to sell anyone but rather defend the integrity of my town and its residents.

We must recall the famous quote “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” - George Santayana. In this case, we must go back to 1954, when the town of New Square (Rockland County) was first purchased. As this one population began to grow, they needed additional space to accommodate more families, houses of worship, private schools, and more. The following is a list of facts that summarize the steps this group has since taken and the impact on communities. After reviewing this list, please let me know how any item listed below even remotely implies an anti-Semitic sentiment. In the name of political correctness, are we to ignore history and allow it to repeat itself?

I could easily spend days sharing examples of corruption, law breaking, and more. I can share examples of how, in Lakewood, NJ, there is a lawsuit which centers on how hidden income, fake applications and phony company owners were integral parts of a complex scheme several wealthy families used for years to fool the government into doling out nearly $2 million in aid reserved for the poorest citizens. Or in Rockland County, how a group used a 'Bloc Vote' to successfully influence the town’s former supervisor, (who I call ‘The Devil’), Christopher St. Lawrence to revise zoning, allowing for higher density residential development. This effort “paved the way for the operation of schools with temporary Building Department permits without planning and zoning approvals in single-family homes. Several neighborhoods have challenged the schools and other high-density housing developments(2).” But instead, I will focus on these examples, which I feel are most effective at demonstrating the overall concerns-

• Please keep in mind that school taxes are based on the assessed value of a single home. The number of children living in one home has no influence on the amount a family pays in taxes. In Lakewood, NJ, “More than 20,000 youngsters attend private, tuition-based kindergarten-through-12th-grade yeshivas, whereas just 6,000 children — mostly African American and Latino — attend public schools. But because the Hasidim do not permit boys and girls to sit together, the township has long provided gender-separate “courtesy busing” for all pupils — a major factor in the public school district’s current $12 million deficit(3).” In other words, despite the fact their children do not attend public schools, those residents who do pay taxes, are footing this bill and are turning their heads to what would (otherwise) be considered flagrant, sexual discrimination. Census figures for 2015 to 2016 showed there are 24,000 non-public school students in the East Ramapo school district (Rockland County) and 8,500 public school students.
• In Lakewood, children with special needs, from this group, typically attend the School for Children with Hidden Intelligence at a cost of $93,000 per year, per student. Those who pay taxes in Lakewood are responsible for bankrolling this as well, whereas the same services, in public schools are available for substantially less money.
• New Square (Rockland County) incorporated into a village after the Ramapo town attorney calls for the settlement to be condemned for not complying with zoning laws and building codes(4).
• In 2005, “Ultra-religious Jews gain control of the East Ramapo Board of Education, thanks to support from a voting bloc of Hasidic and other Orthodox Jews(4).”
  
  
• In 2015, “the East Ramapo School District is placed under state oversight in the wake of lawsuits and complaints to the state Education Department over allegations of financial mismanagement by school officials(4).”
  
  
• In May of 2015, “Rockland's Health Department begins inspecting housing and issuing summonses based on the county’s sanitary code in response to the lack of enforcement in Ramapo(4).”
  
  
• Similarly, in 2016, “Rockland is authorized by the state to inspect more than 20 Ramapo yeshivas that have not filed the required inspection reports in years(4).”
  
  
• Given the history of corruption in the town of Ramapo (Rockland), there is little ‘official’ documentation confirming the following but it has been well documented by several of Rockland’s residents – “Suffern resident Annette Doerr said she has been battling the conversion of a home next door into an ultra-Orthodox school for several years. Doerr told the I-Team she believes there are more than 200 students in the four-bedroom house but has been unable to get specific information(5).”
  
  
• From Lakewood, NJ and its surrounding towns, to towns throughout Rockland County, high-pressure real estate agents are engaging in an aggressive and illegal activity known as “blockbusting,” which they use as a threat to current home owners to move before their property value plummets. Many cities are instituting “No knock” ordinances to stop this behavior.
• In Brooklyn, NY, "The juxtaposition happened over years, not overnight. Leaders leveraged longstanding political connections to win favorable zoning changes. Local developers bought and built to meet the need. Residents organized to get in line for rental subsidies. Block by block, the community created a de facto free market, affordable housing plan(6)."
  
  
• Also in Brooklyn (as is the case in most of their communities), only "a sliver of the community makes money in diamonds, real estate and trading. But many men favor religious study over work, and most women stay at home, so money can be tight. Those who work are often relegated to low-wage jobs due to a lack of secular education. All sides agree the community is clamoring for affordable housing, a demand fueled by one of the highest birthrates in the city. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish couples typically marry in their late teens and have many children(6)." I highly recommend this article to learn more about this (specific) topic.

Shall I continue? I could. This hardly makes a dent in the list of examples that defend what my fellow residents and I are defending against. This group treats property and public areas as their personal garbage cans, leaving trash and other messes without any regard for the community. Overall, these folks have zero regard for the rule of law and have no interest in living harmoniously with anybody.

Rabbi Aaron Kotler, the rosh yeshiva, or dean, of the Beth Medrash Govoha school for Torah study in Lakewood, NJ, the nation’s largest yeshiva, once said “If you really get to know us, we are warm, friendly, open and understanding — fantastic neighbors.” Based on my own experience interacting with members of this community, I know first-hand that there are indeed wonderful people living within it. I do not feel that every person in this group deserves some sort of scarlet letter. But when look at the overall track record of this group as a whole, I believe we cannot ignore history. One bad apple can spoil it for the bunch…I think that applies here, as well.

I believe that our communities must work cooperatively and pursue a crowdfunding effort that would help us all pay for constitutional/government attorneys who will defend our interests and protect our communities by fighting for us at the state level. I wish I could state that we can rely on our local government to lead this charge but after my experience speaking before the council and reading the mayor’s article, it is quite clear that they either do not appreciate the gravity and urgency of this situation or simply care more about good PR and covering their own tracks. This group is highly organized, motivated, and the mayor's inaction (as well as that of the town council) is both disappointing and unacceptable.
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(1) An eruv is an urban area enclosed by a wire boundary that symbolically extends the private domain of Jewish households into public areas, permitting activities within it that are normally forbidden in public on the Sabbath.
(2) http://www.lohud.com/story/new...
(3) http://www.pressofatlanticcity...
(4) http://www.lohud.com/story/new...
(5) http://www.nbcnewyork.com/inve...

(6) http://www.nydailynews.com/new...