Open Season on Orthodox

I was shocked to return from vacation to read that a candidate running for the local school board had suggested hunting down members of my community who did not vote his way. To give a little background, the past few years, my neighborhood has seen an increased involvement by the ever-growing Orthodox community in local government. The local school district has seen school taxes increase while the enrollment in the Public Schools has been going in the opposite direction. This has led many members of the community to question the expectation that the voters will automatically vote to approve the ever-increasing budget. The "establishment" has been outraged at the Orthodox community's temerity in opposing higher taxes, and have therefore portrayed the Orthodox as the enemies of Public Education.

Apparently, the bitterness has evolved to the extent that when a candidate in this year's school board election, Stanley Kopilow, was asked what his plans were if the budget were to get voted down again in the upcoming election, he answered: "Aside from taking a shotgun to a certain group?" Apparently, the Orthodox hunting season has begun. What is truly amazing to me is that there was a reporter from the local paper present when the comment was made in a public forum and he declined to publish the comments. Had this comment been made about any other minority group, such as blacks or latinos, the outrage would have reached far and wide. Instead, this man, who is Vice-President of the local Reform Temple Israel, can make an inflammatory comment such as this about Orthodox Jews at a candidate's night at the local public school, and the only reaction from those present was, from all accounts, laughter.

Sick stuff.