By Jeff Lipton
The meeting was called to try to allay some fears in the Jewish community, said Insp. George Gudmundsen, commander of the Fourth Precinct. We have seen a palpable increase in fear in the Jewish community, which is tied to the violent events in the Middle East. We see the violence on TV, day in and day out and it's a great concern.
Some Jewish leaders have expressed concerns about a backlash against religious institutions, with the rising death toll in the Middle East as a result of the ongoing clashes between Israeli and Palestinian forces.
The police inspector said the meeting, held on April 18 at Young Israel of Woodmere, was organized to brief rabbis and synagogue presidents on what the police are doing to protect synagogues and religious schools throughout the Fourth Precinct, which takes in the Five Towns, Atlantic Beach, Oceanside, Island Park, East Rockaway, Lido Beach and Point Lookout.
We have put our officers on a heightened state of alert, Gudmundsen said. Bolstered patrols include plainclothes as well as uniformed officers.
He added that he did not want the Jewish residents in the Fourth Precinct to alter their daily routines due to fear of a backlash. We want them to know the Fourth Precinct is prepared and will keep them safe and secure in their homes and synagogues.
In large part it's good to be concerned about safety, but people need to understand that in Nassau County we don't need to fear the same issues people do in Israel or Palestine.
Gudmundsen notified 50 synagogues and as many as 100 rabbis and congregation presidents about the meeting, which Rabbi Simcha Lefkowitz of Congregation Toras Chaim in Hewlett helped organize. Rabbi Lefkowitz is the Nassau County police chaplain.
Lefkowitz cautioned that calling the meeting did not indicate that religious leaders are in a state of panic, but rather a sense of need for heightened awareness by the community, by organizations, by schools and by synagogues.
The rabbi said the need for heightened awareness stems not only as a reaction to the violence in Israel, but also the increase in anti-Semitic acts in France and other parts of Europe and in a post-Sept. 11 society.
The Fourth Precinct has done an outstanding job and Insp. Gudmundsen is very much a part of a community-oriented police department, Lefkowitz said. And the police department has been there and are on the job.
Gudmundsen said police patrols have been beefed up around synagogues and yeshivas since Sept. 11, to provide the community with a sense of security. Last week's meeting was called to outline for Jewish leaders what the police have been doing and will continue to do to protect them. The Fourth Precinct inspector said there has been no marked increase in the number of bias crimes as compared with the past year.
Joining Gudmundsen at the April 18 meeting were Det. Sgt. Gary Shapiro of the Nassau County Bias Crimes Unit, counter-terrorism expert Det. Lt. Matt Brady of the county's Special Investigations Squad, and Det. William Lahey of the Fifth Squad, a buildings security expert.
Sgt. Shapiro said reports of anti-Semitism are down slightly in the county over the last few years. But we have seen a couple of Middle East harassment reports, Shapiro said.
During the past week, a Five Towns synagogue received a phone call blaming Jews for the conflict in the Middle East, said Shapiro, who did not want to name the synagogue. That incident is under investigation, he said.
We urge people if they see anything suspicious to report it to us, he said. The police are here but they can't be everywhere.
Religious leaders praised police for keeping the community apprised of what's going on.
We're very appreciative of their efforts, said Rabbi Stanley Platek of the Hewlett-East Rockaway Jewish Centre. We know they care very deeply about the security of the community and reinforce their efforts in how they can help us and how we can help ourselves.
As for the conflict in the Middle East, Platek said, I think there is a low-level anxiety being felt by everyone over here. We are dealing with people who might want to destroy us and do not have a positive agenda and who exhibit a general animosity. There are elements in the Muslim world who would like to see western culture eliminated.
In light of what's happening in Israel and in response to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, many synagogues and schools have hired their own private security firms for extra protection.
We have beefed up security and our whole security system, Platek said. We do this when we feel it is necessary. Yes, there is a heightened sense of awareness and the need to be more than careful.
Rabbi Hershel Billet of Young Israel of Woodmere, said, We are concerned about a lot of things that are happening in the world. Anti-Israel usually translates into anti-Semitism. We want to make sure nothing like that is happening in our community.
We have a lot of confidence in the Nassau County police force and we will take their advice.
