Photo of Kids Playing On Rockland Co 9/11 Memorial Sparks Tensions
Another photo of children playing on a memorial statue has lead to backlash, and this time it's right in our own area. This photo shows a family standing near the 9/11 Memorial, in Haverstraw Bay Park, in Rockland County, as their kids casually sit on the memorial itself. This has also sparked ethnic tension in Rockland County, as the family shown here is Hasidic. According to the Rockland Times The memorial photo was first posted in the Facebook group North Rockland Community.
The ethnic or religious makeup of the family in question is not what matters here. What matters, and what I would ask everyone to focus on, is the desecration of this sacred site. I have reached out to Sheriff Falco and our Environmental Resources/Parks Coordinator to discuss ways to prevent this sort of behavior in the future through signage and patrols, and urge all parents to discuss with their children the importance of respecting site such as this one.
The Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council claimed Day had different reasons and motives in posting the photo. They said...
The story about Havestraw Park is that a photo of children climbing on a 9/11 memorial was first posted in the comment section of the Facebook Page of Rockland County Executive Edward Day, accompanied with an angry tirade against Hasidim. Instead of removing this tirade, Ed Day and his son Chris Day both adapted the photo to post it simultaneously as new posts on their respective Facebook pages; thus generating more hate comments against Orthodox Jews. OJPAC praises the many people from different communities who took to Facebook and Twitter to express outrage at the malicious act by Mr. Day who has multiple times criticized “The Jew in Rockland” video released by OJPAC without even once criticizing the hate pointed out in the video. The good people of Rockland County and beyond are hoping that the Day’s will bring communities together instead of dividing them.
The Hasidic organization drew even more fire when they recently released a controversial video entitled “The Jew in Rockland,” that compared the environment in Rockland County to pre-World War II Nazi Germany.
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