By Eric Wolf Schoen
In large part fueled by what is going on in the Middle East, Antisemitism has reared its’ ugly head again throughout the United States and other parts of the world. This is particularly true in areas such as New York and places where there are large Jewish populations. Jewish College students are afraid to go to class, Jewish teachers have every word they say monitored, and Jews are afraid to leave their homes for fear of attack.
I planned on writing about antisemitism members of my family and I have experienced dating back to before I was born in an article in these newspapers. But when you live in an area chock full of news and information that people need to know about, you first want to share that news that affects the population you are writing for and put broader topics like antisemitism off to the side.
Then you have an incident like what occurred Thursday at a basketball game between Yonkers Public Schools students from Roosevelt High School in Yonkers and Leffell School in Hartsdale, formerly the Solomon Schecter school. It reminds you to never forget about important topics that hit close to home in your life and never put them to the side.
Allegations were made and substantiated that one Roosevelt High School student said ‘Free Palestine’ during the game. That student was suspended from the basketball team. Another allegation was made that a Roosevelt student said , ‘I support Hamas you (expletive) Jew.
Another published account has Roosevelt students shouting other antisemitic slurs and curses and ‘Free Palestine’ at Leffell School players.
Glad to see the Yonkers Public School district took quick action on the student with the substantiated comment. If investigation finds more students made antisemitic remarks, those students need to be dismissed from the team per the District Code of Conduct and the rest of the teams games need to be cancelled. The Coach of the Roosevelt team was suspended from the team and the public needs to know why this occurred.
The District must continue its investigations, but an outside party needs to be brought in from the State Education Department or the section basketball organization to review what went on here and to be sure the district response is appropriate. I agree with the restorative Justice circle outlined by the Interim Superintendent of Schools and that this incident can be used as a ‘teachable moment.’ However, those students or district staff who acted improperly must be sanctioned.
The investigation must determine why no Yonkers Public School participates in the Anti Defamation League’s ‘No Place for Hate’ anti bias program a reported 75 schools in Westchester do. The answer to that as a former student and Administrator in the district could be that Yonkers never experienced this problem in the past. When I graduated high school in 1978 the district was 50% white and 50% minority, black and Hispanic. Everyone got along, and though it is over 40 years ago the district never had or has had problems like what occurred on Thursday.
State Senator Shelley Mayer’s comment that an initial statement she saw from the school district that wasn’t shared publicly minimized the impact of the incident also needs investigation from an outside source to see who generated the statement. In light of the antisemitism currently going on in the world and here at home, anyone who minimizes the incident needs to wake up and extensive sensitivity training. And to turn on the news.
Antisemitism has shed its ugly light on my family and I going back to the days my father owned a grocery store on Palmer Road where Palmer Lizzie’s exists today close to Bronxville before I was born. Many of his customers were not use to dealing with a Jewish businessman. Mom was a student teacher in Bronxville, and in a village where there were no Jews quite often felt uncomfortable teaching in its’ public schools.
Growing up there were swim and tennis clubs in Yonkers that did not let Jews join. They only let Jews in when they were about to go bankrupt to save the day. Same is true for at least 1 golf club.
The largest loss of life in a fire in Yonkers was at the Jewish Community Center on South Broadway across from St. Joseph’s hospital. Close friends of the family died in the fire in which both Jews and non Jews perished. The fire, arson was in 1965. Is there any plaque on the site in memory of those who died. Nope!
I took a Civil Service test that had no qualifications other than a college degree for a position with the Yonkers Municipal Housing Authority. I scored high and was interviewed by a member of the Board that ran the authority. The lady belittled me so and questioned why I even showed up for the interview. I almost left in tears until I spoke with a neighbor who worked For the Authority who said Jews need not apply for jobs there. My uncle had another member of the Authority board as his gym teacher in high school and told me what an antisemite he was. That’s why I always refer to Civil Service, an agency I went on to run as silly service.
Some say that part of the reason for the Yonkers Schools desegregation case was to break up clusters of Jewish students on the east side of Yonkers and to spread them around. When I went to work at the Board of Education the schools never had off Easter Monday but were closed most days of Passover and for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Every year I would get a call in my job as Press Secretary from a parent who would say the Jews got their holidays off why was the district not closed for Easter Monday. I had to remind them that Easter Monday is not a holiday.
There were certain sections in Yonkers where Jews, though it was unofficial were not allowed to live. Don’t get me wrong the same was true for many ethnic, racial and religious groups. Fortunately I never experienced this but know of friends who did.
You won’t find many Jews on Yonkers boards and commissions. Kudos to Mayor Spano for putting a highly qualified Jew on the Yonkers Board of Education which hasn’t had a Jewish member in years. Take a look at the dedication plaques in many Yonkers schools and you will see many Jewish Board of Education members responsible for approving their building.
I’ll leave you with two incidents, one with antisemitic overtones and one clearly antisemitic. I was called to meet with a high ranking City of Yonkers official during my tenure working at Yonkers City Hall. The official greeted me by telling me how he had worked with Jews in a previous job and how he was familiar with Judaism. This had nothing to do with why I was meeting with this official.
The others incident I remember clearly as if it was yesterday. I was the guest of an elected official from Yonkers who was running for statewide office at a campaign fundraiser at a major country club in Westchester. I checked my coat at the event and there was no sign of a charge. I came back to retrieve my coat and there was posted a sign for something crazy like $5 per coat. I questioned the coat clerk if the sign was up at the beginning of the night. The clerk put a penny in the ash tray in front of me and gave me my coat and my mothers coat. A member of the club retrieving his coat laughed. My mother said to me welcome to the world of antisemitic country clubs in Westchester.
Yes, antisemitism has existed in WESTCHESTER and in Yonkers. Let’s get what happened a week ago Thursday investigated and have those involved face the punishment they deserve. Let the County Executive bring all those involved in the section together, and let the Interim Superintendent of Schools proceed with his restorative Justice circles and sanction those who did wrong.
And let Yonkers once again be the City of Gracious Living!
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com, or friend him on Facebook Eric Schoen…just look for him in the picture with Joan Rivers!
