Cedarhurst village trustee’s Facebook post creates a stir

Freedom of speech is enshrined in the United States Constitution and freedom of expression is upheld as a basic human right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.

However, there are limits to the right of free speech ranging from what is called dangerous speech such as not yelling fire in a crowded venue to what is considered treasonous speech by individual countries.

With the advent of social media there are a great many forums where people feel the need it to offer an opinion on the issues of the day. And that free speech creates its own set of consequences.

Ari Brown, an elected trustee of Cedarhurst village and the appointed deputy mayor, posted a reaction to another Facebook post concerning Covid vaccinations. Brown's July 28 post: “I grew up in a home where I heard the horror stories of the holocaust first hand. We used to wonder to ourselves as kids “how did they let this happen? History repeats itself” was in response to Cedarhurst dentist Dr. Gila Jedwab’s anti-vaccine post on the same day.

After seeing Brown’s post The Forward's senior political reporter Jacob Kornbluh tweeted: “Ari Brown, deputy mayor of the Village of Cedarhurst in the Five Towns, compares the U.S. coronavirus vaccination drive to the Nazi-era Holocaust.”

Then the Jerusalem Post posted an online story noting both posts by Brown and Jedwab, a previous Brown post and the rising Covid rate in Nassau County. There was no mention of contacting Brown for comment, who was contacted by the Herald and emailed a statement. (See box.)

Brown told the Herald that his postings are “my own personal opinion,” and said he is not speaking for Cedarhurst village and what he wrote has nothing to do with the Holocaust.

Cedarhurst Mayor Benjamin Weinstock, who appointed Brown deputy mayor, said, “There is nothing more fundamental than expressing you opinion. I don’t agree with his position, I would never deny him the right to say it.” Weinstock said that the village doesn’t have a written policy on restricting the speech of its elected or appointed officials, and he noted that Brown never implies he is speaking for the village.

In Lawrence, there is also no formal policy restricting speech nor any policy regarding social media. “We don’t have a written policy, but there is an agreement that the trustees will check through the village office,” Mayor Alex Edelman said, before speaking on a specific village issue.