The following letter appreared in the Journal News website:
Monsey, NY – On Friday afternoon, we buried my brother at Ascension Cemetery. To get to the burial we had to drive from St. Gregory’s in northern Rockland to the cemetery in Airmont. The funeral procession began along the 13-mile trip taking us through many towns. At each intersection and side street, respectful citizens patiently put their cars in park and waited as we drove by.
As we reached Monsey on Route 306, we became outraged at the actions of some members of this community. For a religious group who firmly believes in the right to participate in a religious ritual without bias, ridicule or interruption, some in this community acted disgracefully. Drivers cut off cars in the funeral procession, including the limousines behind the hearse; they yelled, hollered and laughed at us as we drove by.
When did it become acceptable to be so disrespectful?
Dennis Collopy-West Nyack, NY
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24 Responses
Rabbosai this is delaying Moshiach, why o why must we behave this way? Sometimes I think that they have lived such a sheltered lifestyle that they don’t know how to act correctly in the outside world, such as proper courtesy etc, can this be true?
what a terrible chillul hashem…the worst part is that everyone thinks that the non jews don’t like us because of some kind of spiritual reason that “eisav sonei l’yaakov”
these people ought to be ashamed of themselves.
without law, we are nothing,
without reason we are even less,
and without good character, we’re just animals
truth be told whatever someone says here will not get to the people involved here since they do not read yeashiva world news , they read the journal news .
the problem here is simple . they should have made sure to have gotten a police escort for the whole trip to the cemetery to make sure that things like this won’t happen.
second any good police officer worth his salt would know that on a Friday afternoon in monsey,n.y. you stay away from the main streets do to major traffic on Route 306.
therefore why is the onus on us the people responsible for the funereal should take responsibility for this problem
What a shame.
This may or may not be true but I live in Monsey and have never witnessed anythng like this. This sounds like preconceived notions. 306 is a packed traffic filled road that has 3 minute long traffic lights. This is something the journal news relishes publishing. Stop believing everything this clearly anti semitic publication espouses even if it is in the letters section.
Without doubt this letter was written by a rabid anti-semite with a lifelong grudge against Jews.
Additionally, one can be certain that not a single word is true.
Considering the Journal News is known to be the anti-semitic rag it is, it shouldn’t surprise us they printed this boldfaced lie. The only question is, why should any of us care?
“DERECH ERETZ KADMA LE’TORAH!”
We are now reaping what we have sowed–negligence of middos training in our homes and schools.
Dear Dennis,
There are sickos in every group. Please don’t let the horrendous actions of a few nuts reflect on an entire community.
THIS IS VERY SAD. PICTURE THIS SITUATION FROM HIS POINT OF VIEW HE’S GOING TO BURY HIS BROTHER AND EVERY CAR ON THE ROAD IS BEING RESPECTFULL OF THE FUNERAL PROCESSION AND WHEN HE GETS TO THE JEWISH NEIGHBORHOOD THEY ACT IN THIS WAS HOW COULD HE NOT THINK WHAT HE THINKS ITS A VERY EMBARASSING THING
even if it was true, he shouldnt have said it
HE IS 95% LIKELY A VIRULANT RACIST
WHAT MAKES HIM A RACIST
YWN, when will you increase the ratio between stories about Kiddush Hashem and stories about Chillul Hashem?
When you mass advertise Chillul Hashem, it just gets people more and more desensitized to it, and they may not think twice before doing it themselves, chas v’sholom.
from lohud.com
this is dennis’s phone number 845 634 6335 hes over on parrot rd in nyack. just a blatant racist. i know the guy. nothing to discuss, end of story.
the fact that this letter writer knows exactly which neighborhood monsey is, and who occupies it, sounds like a local with an ax to grind, good job by all those willing to accept every thing written as “tora m’shomyim”, have any of u ever seen in your entire life, a jew laughing at a non-jewish funeral, this story makes no sense
Something tells me this didn’t happen as reported.
I think they have to be explained that frum Jews cannot br judged for acting in a harried fashion close to the onset of shabbos.
Let them see who would be the first to offer help to a sranded motorist, or somerthing more serious. Everyone knows the frum Jews would be the first – sorry: the only – responders helping out with the greatest selflessness, even to a non-Jew.
I haven’t posted here in a long time and came back to see the news. this is a complete lie! there was a police escort. I was at the intersection of old nyack turnpike and saddle river road and I waited for 15-20 minutes. I cannot believe that if police were blocking traffic at this minor intersection that they didn’t block traffic at the major intersection a 1/2 mile away.
Since the Journal commenters are directing readers to Jewish blogs to read our comments I want them to hear some truths of our own.
Number one, since the route was planned and not just decided on sporadically, then the planners should have known that “Friday afternoon” would be the worst time to take route 306. If they were planning the funeral and needed to go that route they should have planned the funeral to begin earlier in the day or find a detour around the 306 since it gets very clogged with local traffic having a “NEED” to get home before candle lighting and sundown. This is unavoidable, orthodox Jews have no option here, we cannot change the clock, push off sunset or candle-lighting.
We don’t condone nor excuse rudeness on either side of this controversy and really don’t need to know who started it. But we do want you to know that both sides in this issue have the right to practice their religious beliefs and needs and the funeral does not trump bringing in the Sabbath on time. Local police would have and should have known the issue in the community and the time constraints and traffic constraints of the 306. The funeral “planners” should have availed themselves of the services and knowledge of the local police department.
Blaming the local community for having to rush through the procession and not sit on the sidelines waiting it out for 10, 20 or even 30 minutes while car after car passes by when drivers themselves have only limited time to get home before sundown is not fair and not a good and proper perspective of the community. Had this same situation occurred in the morning or on a normal weekday or even Sunday, no matter how busy the 306 would be, the scenario would have played itself out differently.
On the other hand, we can all comment on how many times WE ourselves have been in a funeral procession, or we have been driving and seen a funeral procession and have been cut off or watched cars cut off the procession whether on through streets or highways. It has nothing to do with who or what religion the family is.
As a member of the frum Monsey community for almost 30 years, I’m sorry to say that the writer probably had good cause to say what he did. I ALWAYS avoid that area because of how obnoxious all the drivers are. I don’t know what it is about that area, but its like as soon as people turn onto Route 306, they forget all manners.
How is someone supposed to know it’s a funeral anyway? How do they know it’s not just traffic? Why do you expect everyone to be familiar with this ethnic custom of having a procession that nobody must break?
I am waiting for someone to show me the law about funeral processions having the right of way. Ive lived in many states and as far as I recall, no such law exists.
As for the letter to the Urinal News, I would suggest that our Monsey area readers who were there and stuck in traffic, write nice letters to the editor of the aforementioned fish wrap and let them know the truth.
Interestingly, when I googled the directions, it DID NOT give me 306 as an option, which makes me wonder more about the story!
I have learnt from bitter experience that just because somebody says something, doesn’t mean it actually happened as they say it did!
#6 & #10, prove what you assert! Don’t bring shame upon HaShem giving false witness.
#18 you should be commended for what you said and how you said it.
#20, think about what you asked. What gives those at a levaya the right to block a street for the beginning of, the procession of the group carrying the niftar to the cemetery?
#21, it is not about there being a law, it is about respect for the dead. And funerals are often planned to account for time for flower trucks to deliver flowers to the grave of the non-jewish deceased before the body and family arrive at the cemetery. If one can’t or won’t show respect for these people, why should you expect them to show respect for you when the time comes for the leveya of a parent, grand-parent, or sadly, a child?
I happened to have visited a small town in Europe where the Levaya, inlcuding the Hespedim were outdoors.
A non-Jewish car wanted to drive through but was blocked by the crowd, the hearse etc.So he honked for about a half a second.
HOLY MOLY, you should have witnessed the reaction.
People were cursing him out, and accusing him of antisemitism. Those hateful, disgusted expressions which totally UNglorified the faces of our brethern were truly a shame. The poor guy didnt know what hit him
Why do we always expect the ulmtimate understanding from the umos Haolom, when we ourselves don’t respect them?