ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY — The community of Rockville Centre is standing up against hate. During a weekend “Break the Hate” event on the steps of Congregation B’nai Sholom – Beth David, community leaders and local politicians joined residents in the social media action.
A short video was recorded Sunday to denounce antisemitism and other forms of hate.
“We wanted to try and counter all of the negative messaging on social media with some positive messaging,” Rabbi David Lerner told Patch. “You’re changing what people view as they scroll.”
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This was part of a national “Break the Hate” initiative.
“The image of taking a piece of paper that says ‘hate’ on it, say ‘I am breaking the hate’ and just tear that in half, can be done in three seconds,” the rabbi said. “It makes for an easy video to be digested and a strong symbol standing against hatred of any kind.”
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Another symbol was evident at the synagogue.
“[We stood] under a banner that was #Bring Them Home Now to bring awareness and advocacy for the hostages that are still being kept in Gaza,” Lerner said.
Above the banner was an Israeli flag, the rabbi said.
But Lerner pointed out this was not strictly a Jewish gathering.
“We had people come to the steps after church,” he said. “We publicized this throughout the village.”
Lerner said community organizations have a responsibility to promote awareness of hatred and its consequences.
“We are part of humanity and when we see someone attacking humanity, like hatred and division, we need to stand up together and try to fight it as best we can,” Lerner said.
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