LONG ISLAND
REGION
ZOA National President
Morton A. Klein Met With
Standing Ovation on Long
Island
In April 2019, the Chai Center of Dix
Hills, New York hosted a program entitled,
“Anti-Semitism in America and the Deafening
Silence,” featuring ZOA National President
Morton A. Klein. Mr. Klein – described
as a hero by Rabbi Yakov Saacks in his introduction
– received a standing ovation before
he even uttered a word. It was a packed room,
with hundreds in attendance, from high
school students to senior citizens.
Mr. Klein spoke about his testimony before
the House Judiciary Committee on April 9,
during which he was interrupted as soon as
he mentioned the name Ilhan Omar, a Congresswoman
from Minnesota who has used
anti-Semitic language to criticize Israel and its
supporters. After the hearing, Mr. Klein was
surrounded by people who falsely attacked
him as an Islamophobe.
Mr. Klein said, “The most serious issues
facing Jews and maybe the world today, are
Islamic anti-Semitism and Islamic Jihadism.
Sixty percent of hate crimes are against
Jews.” He spoke about growing anti-Semitism
coming from the leftist Muslims now
in Congress, and how this problem is largely
ignored not only by government officials and
the media, but also by the Jewish community.
He mentioned other Jewish organizations and
how they fall short when it comes to acknowledging
and addressing this issue.
Mr. Klein went on to explain how the
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)
movement is escalating and creating a hostile
environment for Jewish and pro-Israel students
on many college campuses. Just recently, the
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter
at NYU announced that it would be receiving
the coveted President’s Service Award, which
recognizes student groups “that have had an
extraordinary and positive impact on the
University community.” Yet SJP is a nefarious
anti-Semitic group that has had exactly the
opposite impact. As the Jerusalem Center
for Public Affairs determined in its research
and policy study, SJP “is a terror-affiliated
anti-Semitic network that currently operates
with autonomy and impunity at colleges and
universities across the United States.”
A critical part of the ZOA’s mission is
fighting campus anti-Semitism and advocating
for students who face anti-Semitic
harassment and intimidation on their
campuses. Mr. Klein told the audience
that not once has ZOA received any calls
about campus anti-Semitism perpetrated by
neo-Nazis or white supremacists. He also
spoke about how Jews are being targeted on
the streets of Brooklyn in unprecedented
numbers, simply for being Jewish, yet this
frightening problem is not being addressed
forcefully and effectively. From campus to
Congress, anti-Semitism is on the rise, and
Mr. Klein sent the strong message that it is
incumbent upon all of us to stand up and
fight it, from wherever it comes – even if it
means standing alone.
To rousing applause, Mr. Klein concluded
his talk with a passionate declaration of the
extraordinary miracles that the Jewish people
and Israel have experienced. Following the
program, one young woman with tears in her
eyes commented, “This man said everything
I feel, everything I try to express. He put my
beliefs about anti-Semitism and the situation
in this country into words as I never could. I
have to be involved in ZOA.”
From campus
to Congress,
anti-Semitism
is on the rise,
and Mr. Klein
sent the strong
message that it is
incumbent upon
all of us to stand
up and fight it,
from wherever it
comes – even if it
means standing
alone.
62 Around the Country: Long Island