Ramapo, NY – An edited video branding portions of an East Ramapo school board candidate’s speech at a recent board meeting as anti-Semitic has sparked anger in a community already divided by religious and ethnic tension.
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Antonio Luciano’s reference to Pontius Pilate and war criminals in criticizing the board’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish majority for its budget cuts led to a responding video interspersing those words with images of Christ being crucified and the Nazi Holocaust.
Luciano made his comments while criticizing the Board of Education’s policies as hurting public school students during an April 14 board meeting.
The district has in recent years been divided between public school parents and their supporters and supporters of the school board majority who largely send their children to private schools. Both factions have been videotaping board meetings and posting the videos on the Internet.
“While I have sat here, watching board members during the budget crisis, I have heard a recurring theme: It’s all about the kids, and we do not want to hurt the kids,” Luciano said during his nearly two-minute speech, “but to try to absolve yourself from blame is like Pontius Pilate washing his hands, or the soldier who has committed war crimes who claims he was only following orders.”
A video using about 30 seconds of Luciano’s speech was then created focusing on his reference to the man who ordered Jesus’ crucifixion and the war crimes comment. One defense given by the Nazis during the Nuremberg trials for murdering Jews and other innocent people was they just followed orders.
With Luciano’s words repeated several times, the video offered images of a bloody and beaten Jesus carrying his cross and Adolph Hitler giving a Nazi salute. Images of the Holocaust were shown following Luciano’s words.
The video has since been removed. A user named “Reasonforeastramapo” had posted the video, shot using a camera owned by school board Vice President Aron Wieder. Wieder said he had nothing to do with the video.
Luciano’s own video of him delivering his remarks before the Board of Education, however, remains on the Internet.
Luciano said he didn’t mean to offend anyone but chose the most extreme examples to illustrate his point that the board members can’t avoid taking responsibility for their decisions that hurt the district’s children.
“To try to link me with Adolf Hitler or having anything to do with persecution of Jews or the Holocaust is outrageous,” Luciano said. “I was just trying to get people to take responsibility for their actions. That was it.”
Luciano’s words received a sharp rebuke.
Read the full story at The Journal News
Watch below the edited video.
The journal news is again showing their anti semitisim.
Why r they busy with The edited video?? His comments is what they should be talking about.. Yes he did compare our board members to nazis.
The truth came out of his mouth. And we all need to go out to the polls in this upcoming election to vote him down
Can someone explain to me why frum yidden who send their kids to yeshiva need to be on the School Boards of public schools?
This whole voting in our board members is a real bad idea it just makes us looking like we want to owe everything this its no good for us what we should do we should endorse people who are willing to work with our community and not getting our self the board I’m telling u the anti semitisem is going to go much far then now its no good .
the monsey community pays texas for the school district, buy having board members from the community you are trying not to waste so muchhhhhh, (and i mean a lot 120,000,000 last year) and to help the local schools also getting a peice of the pie allowed by the law, couylkd you emagine sitting on a pot of 120m and no one telling you how to control it.
The video was taken by a camera owned by a board member and one of his group edited the video with the pictures. This was done to stir up trouble.
There is a reason the Midrash says Jews should stay out of politics.
but is controling the budget worth the price of anti semitizim we are paying for it???
Reply to#9 u see u don’t get my point I also don’t think its far to have a board that don’t listen to u but I also think that a board with yidden makes us look like we want to owe it so the best thing would be that we should endorse not yidden but people who would listen to us I’m sure that there is a possibility to find guys like that like this we want have so much people hating us don’t forget u r in gules ..
I say ENOUGH! ENOUGH with the rising, out of control property taxes! Enought with the public school kids getting a free ride, and their money grabbing unappreciative parents! We’ve had ENOUGH!
I say a big THANK YOU to the school board members who work against so many crazies out there.
VERY SMART to whoever took the video and posted it . WE NEED NOT EXCUSE OURSELVES FOR THIS! Shame on those in the community who will excuse the taping of the video that exposes those haters !!!
It’s our money who keeps these horrifyingly expensive ungrateful public school kids education going. AT LEAST BE GRATEFUL!
The posted video was disgusting and should not have been done. We always need to act in a manner that causes a Kiddush Hashem even if our opponents resort to name calling and invidious comparisons.
The vested interests in East Ramapo, i.e., the various unions trying to protect their high salaries, rich benefit packages and bloated work force are the main instigators of trouble at these meetings. That said, we need to do a better job of not taking the bait by foolishly posting videos of kind mentioned in the article and do demonstrate that what we are proposing is reasonable.
I think more of the animosity in Monsey is caused by what St. Lawrence has done to the zoning of Monsey and its environs that what has gone on with respect to public school funding.
The monsey “Askanim” are out of control. they are doing more damage then them good. we dont own ramapo and we can keep our heads so high, we are in golus after all.
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