Rabbi Honored For Fighting Intolerance Speaks On NJ Hate Crime

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — A rabbi honored for his lifetime of fighting discrimination this week spoke out when, only days after the ceremony, a new hate crime rocked the nation.

Rabbi Steven Moss was honored for his "legacy and leadership" at an event hosted by the Southampton Anti-Bias Task Force Monday.

At the event, he spoke about the history of the Jewish people, who suffered oppression and lost their freedom to worship God, their temples desecrated. He spoke of the warrior Machabee, who decided to rise up agains the occupying forces. And even despite challenges, the Jewish people persevered, he said. "They had faith," he said.

Sadly, oppression and acts of hate still exist. Rabbi Moss, who announced this year that he was retiring after serving 28 years as chairperson of the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission, as well as in a host of other organizations that serve to fight discrimination and hatred, said he was shocked and saddened when, just days after his award ceremony, the world was rocked by another act of violence, this time in Jersey City.

Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday said the deadly attack in Jersey City was a "hate-crime "and an act of domestic terrorism as authorities released more details in the shooting deaths of six people. Surveillance video of the attack on a kosher grocery also became public.

"It now appears from law enforcement that the events that terrorized Jersey City on Tuesday were fueled by hate," Murphy said in a statement. "The murder of innocent civilians because of their religious beliefs, and the murder of a police officer for the simple reason that he was a police officer, must be the wakeup call to those who fail to see or acknowledge the rising tide of hate here in New Jersey, and around the nation."

The suspects who were killed were David Anderson, 47, and Francine Graham, 50, according to Grewal. The attorney general said the two were the primary suspects in a Bayonne murder over the weekend.

The New York Times revealed that one of the suspects published anti-Semitic and anti-police posts online. Anderson also appeared to have a connection to the Black Hebrew Israelite movement, a law enforcement official told The Times, which has been called a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center but has no connection to mainstream Judaism.

Grewal, however, said both suspects expressed interest in the group, but the authorities have not established direct links.

Services were also announced for Detective Joseph Seals, 39, a married father of five, who was killed by the suspects in Bayview Cemetery on Garfield Avenue prior to the shootings at the bodega, according to Jersey City Police Chief Mike Kelly. Other police officers were wounded in the attack. Sgt. Majorie Jordan, one of the officers on the scene, is being hailed as a hero after selflessly risking her life to rescue an injured co-worker. Moshe Hersh Deutsch, 24, of Brooklyn and Leah Mindel Ferencz, 32, who owned the kosher grocery store with her husband, were identified as two of the civilian victims. Grewal said two of the victims were Orthodox Jews, but he didn't say which ones.

Moss said while it was a great honor to be recognized by the Southampton Anti-Bias Task force, "what gave me the greatest feeling and sense of gratitude was to be a part of making this happen." He explained that he was involved in organizing anti-bias task forces in towns across Suffolk County in the early 1990s, and said he's pleased that many have long been in existence, fighting bias and racism. In addition, although others had "gone into quiet mode," some are coming back in a big way, including the Huntington Anti-Bias Task Force.

Moss also serves on the Suffolk County Anti-Bias Task Force and with the Suffolk County Community College's Center for Human Understanding and Social Justice; he is the founder of StopBias and has also served as the rabbi at B’nai Israel Reform Temple in Oakdale since 1972. He has served the Suffolk County Police Department as a chaplain since 1986 and holds the rank of Chief of Chaplains. He is also chaplain to the Police Association of Suffolk County, the Suffolk County Chief of Police Association, the Police Benevolent Association, the Superior Officers Association, and the Police Reserves of Suffolk County.

"Even though I'm stepping back a little, it gives me a wonderful sense in my heart and soul to know that the cause still goes on — and that these groups will continue to wage the fight against this illness, this infection, this contagion," he said.

The goal, he said, is to stem the deadly tide of bias. "It will never be one hundred percent eradicated, but the work has to go on," he said. "I've learned, with a sense of realism, that racism and bias are part of the human condition."

Moss said those base instincts go back to nature, where animals live in a world of predators and prey. "Human beings have the ability to take that next step, to overcome that animal nature, to determine who is good."

Reflecting on the New Jersey incident, he said: "The said part is, the world we are living in today, we do not know when it is safe, and when it is not, any longer. We have to continue to live our lives being aware and observant. That's where the spiritual part come in, living a life of faith. Doing the best we can every day. And not generalizing. Just because one person did a horrible thing, it does not mean, therefore, that all people like that person are bad. Prejudice comes from the word 'prejudge,' prejudging someone before we even know them."

He pointed to a case in Suffolk County where a Muslim person in a bank was harassed. The person who was charged in the incident was asked why he'd done it and he said, "We're at war with Muslims. They're our enemy," Moss said. "I said, 'Do you this man, who works in a 7-Eleven and was at the bank making a deposit, this man who has a family, do you think we are at war with him?'"

James Banks, chair of the Southampton Anti-Bias Task Force, said there is a need now more than ever to be vigilant and fight back against hatred. "For many years Rabbi Moss and I have partnered to raise awareness and to begin with our youth in coloring the stain of anti-Semitism and racism on Long Island," he said. "He joins me and the anti-bias task force in saying 'The time for social justice is always right now.' And when we fight it, 'May the force be with us.'"

Others warned against labeling acts of violence as hate crimes until all the facts are gathered. Rabbi Michael Rascoe of Temple Israel of Riverhead said that's critical, but added that anti-Semitism is on the rise nationally and worldwide. In the past, he said, words of hate were often thrown about when, for example, a person was intoxicated. "Now, it's perfectly acceptable to say those things even when people aren't drunk or high. For most of my career as rabbi, it wasn’t polite to say anti-Semitic things in public, but if you did, it was because you thought you were around people where you could get away with it — or it was done anonymously. Now, it's okay to say it publicly. Now, with the internet, it becomes safer and more acceptable to say things online that you may never say in person."

There is a problem, he added, because just because someone is anti-Zionist it does not mean they are anti-Semitic. "They use the words 'Jew' and 'Israel' interchangeably and that's certainly not true," Rascoe said. Also, he added, "Any time you start trading anti-Semitic tropes, it makes it that much easier to add an extra step. So if you think Israel is the root of the problem, and you say it's Jews, it makes it much easier to go after Jews in general and not just Israelis. If you start talking about how Jews control money and trade, that old anti-Semitic trope, its an easy step to go from one to the other. We need to stop the tropes."

While not every crime should be deemed a hate crime until it has been investigated, Rascoe said acts of hatred are clearly on the rise.

Recently, the rabbi said he was wearing his yarmulke and walking and was almost hit by a car. "Do I know that it was an act of anti-Semitism? Not at all. Did they see my yarmulke? Of course. It might not have meant anything. But it's certainly possible."

He added that the culture is divided. "The bottom line is, it's gotten worse."