Sacred Ground
Today I soundly and completely condemn the http://protest/disruption by a single Jewish person against the Islamic Center of Mellville, NY yesterday. As covered in the news, this person entered the premises and walked around shouting to free the Israeli Hostages, refusing to leave when asked. They have been arrested and will be charged, as they absolutely should be.
My synagogue can not stop the war between Israel and Hamas any more than the Islamic Center in Melville can release the hostages held since October 7th by the Hamas terror organization. Transferring our political desires onto a religious site in America is unacceptable and wrong.
Let's be clear: When someone pulls up to my synagogue and shouts "F* Israel" as happened a few weeks ago, that is AntiSemitism. When someone goes into a mosque and shouts for the release of the Israel Hostages, that is Islamophobia. Neither has any place in our civil discourse, and neither should be suffered silently by either religion.
When a house of worship in America is targeted because of one's view of an oversees political conflict, that is a form of hate, bias and intimidation. Houses of Worship are Sacred Ground.
Do most of my members support Israel? Absolutely. I can't speak for the Islamic Center of Melville's position on the war but it is easy to imagine that they at least oppose the war and want a ceasefire immediately. None of that justifies bias threat and intimidation against those religious organizations in their peaceful and protected right to operate and support their communities.
We are free to exercise our religion and have a right to do so without taunt, threat or slander. Anyone who does so must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
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