Anti-Semitic letter sent to officials in New York towns

"Hassidic and Orthodox Jews are a severe danger to civilized society."

By DANIELLE ZIRI
Updated: JANUARY 7, 2016 07:46
Hassidic Jew (photo credit: ANDREW KELLY / REUTERS)
Hassidic Jew
(photo credit: ANDREW KELLY / REUTERS)
NEW YORK – Police in Rockland County in New York State are investigating the origins of an anti-Semitic letter sent to mayors and other town officials.
The one-page letter was sent several times to at least three different towns by fax and reads: “Hassidic and Orthodox Jews are a severe danger to civilized society. They need to be placed on reservations under the supervision of the United Nations. They should be given physical work to keep them occupied.”
The letter further says that when Jews recite the Talmud, they “siphon away life from the Goyim and transfer it to themselves and their family.
“This causes tragedies and accidents to Christian families and to other righteous gentiles in America and Worldwide,” it continues. “The Talmud gives Jews satanic and demonic powers to snatch the souls out of the heads of boys and girls of all faiths.”
If tracked down, the author of the letter could face a harassment charge, but police would also weigh whether the act constitutes a hate crime.
Marshall Katz, the mayor of Wesley Hills, a village that is part of the town of Ramapo, received the letter in his office on New Year’s Day. Katz, a modern-Orthodox Jew, told local television he found it and the fact that it was sent to several communities in the area very disturbing.
“It’s just tough to hear somebody spilling such hatred,” he said.
Recipients of the letter said they have contact the Anti-Defamation League about the incident.
And earlier this week, the ADL expressed “deep concern” over anti-Semitic incidents in New York City. The NGO said it has documented about a dozen attacks targeting the Jewish community that took place across the five boroughs of the city since September.
Three incidents include the vandalism of a menorah in Manhattan during Hanukka; a Jew in Brooklyn punched in the face while the suspect allegedly said he was “tired and fed up of the Jews” on November; a Hatzalah EMS worker slashed with a knife in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, the next day; and the Stanton Street Synagogue on the Lower East Side of Manhattan that was broken into and vandalized in early October.
The latest assault on the list took place last week when an Orthodox yeshiva student was attacked in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn.
The 17-year-old victim was punched in the face and thrown into the street by an assailant while walking home.