‘An example for the world’

The news of the murders has created an interfaith unity in Nassau County. The Jewish Community Relations Council of Long Island, an organization that aims to build relationships between the Jewish community and others of different faiths and ethnicities, organized a press conference on June 26, four days before the teens’ bodies were found, to condemn the kidnappings.

JCRC officials were joined by county and state leaders, including Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, State Sens. Dean Skelos and Jack Martins, as well as leaders from the Muslim, Hispanic and Sikh communities, to stand in solidarity. “It’s really comforting to know that Long Island is a big place, but on some level, it’s a small community,” said David Newman, the JCRC’s Long Island director. “We come together in times of need.”

The gathering took place outside the Nassau County Human Rights Commission in Mineola. “It is an example for the world to see how we work together,” said Zahid Syed, the commission’s chairman.

Syed, who lives in East Meadow and is Muslim, said he has a great relationship with the Jewish community. “I hope it can be the same way in Palestine and Israel to work together and live together peacefully like we live in Nassau County,” he said.