Clarkstown officials react to inflammatory remarks at Rockland Islamic Center

Congressman Michael Lawler (R, NY-17) and Clarkstown Town Supervisor George Hoehmann Sunday condemned what they called “the violent, anti-Semitic remarks espoused by a speaker at the Islamic Center of Rockland.”

Lawler said he has visited the center and “have never encountered hostility or hatred toward anyone, but this rhetoric is shocking and deeply concerning.”

Lawler said the speaker’s remarks to pray for Allah to “destroy the Zionist Jews,” is totally unacceptable anywhere, but especially so in Rockland County.”

The congressman said he hopes the members of the Islamic Center of Rockland and its leadership “will clearly speak out against this disturbing, violent, and anti-Semitic rhetoric, and that we can use this hateful incident as a bridge towards further dialogue, understanding, and cooperation between diverse faith communities.”

He said he will continue to stand with “our Jewish brothers and sisters, and those of all faiths, in Rockland County and Across the Hudson Valley in condemning hate and in unifying against anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and other bigotry.”

He said there are other ways to express concern over ongoing conflicts across the globe “without resorting to calls for the extermination of Jews or any other population.”

Meanwhile, Supervisor Hoehmann said, “This extreme and hateful rhetoric is unacceptable and has no place here in Clarkstown. As Supervisor I have had the opportunity to work on interfaith dialogue many times with members of the mosque and find this extreme rhetoric is not representative of the vast majority of the people at the Islamic Center of Rockland County.”

His hope is “that we can all join together to reconcile as one community. While people may disagree politically, statements of this nature made on August 9th are not acceptable.”

Hoehmann said “While there are no known or credible threats, the Clarkstown Police Department has stepped up patrols around all houses of worship and culturally significant places.