Day Calls 'Summit' to Defuse Religious Tension in Rockland County

Rockland County Executive Ed Day is convening an interfaith summit on religious diversity May 13 to promote greater understanding and develop a local response to the rise of tensions and anti-Semitism in the county.

SEE: YouTube Video Compares Rockland County to Nazi Germany

Day said he hoped the roundtable gathering of the Rockland’s top Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith leaders would begin the process of improving communication between diverse cultures and deepening community relationships based on trust, tolerance and shared goals.

Three prominent and influential religious leaders have been asked to facilitate: Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, Executive Vice President, New York Board of Rabbis; Rev. Michael A. Walrond, Jr., Senior Pastor of the historic First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem; and Bishop Dominick J. Lagonegro, Episcopal Vicar of Northern Vicariates, Catholic Archdiocese of New York.

“By working to identify both common ground and important differences in our multifaceted population, we will improve the quality of life for all 320,000 residents of Rockland County,” Day said in a prepared statement. “I look forward to a candid, honest and sensitive interchange of ideas and beliefs.”

The meeting will call for continued positive dialogue, including broadening participation and understanding through worship services, faith-based workshops and community discussions on critical issues facing all local communities.

The summit is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. May 13 at SUNY Rockland Community College in Suffern. Neither the media nor the public are invited.

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