ADL blasts supervisor's comments as anti-Semitic and hateful, Preserve Chester calls for resignation

CHESTER — The Anti-Defamation League and Preserve Chester have condemned comments made by Town of Chester Supervisor Alex Jamieson to The Times-Herald Record last week, in which he said the intention of a town initiative to buy the Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center and other properties around town was to "keep the Hasidic out so that they can’t control the Town Board."
Jamieson responded to The Chronicle's request for comment in an email today: "I’m assisting residents in North Carolina affected by hurricane. Will be back Thursday."
Jamieson is due back in court in Albany on Sept. 25 to face charges that he stole unemployment compensation while employed as a town official. He faces one count of third-degree grand larceny and 22 counts of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing, all felonies.
The story in Friday's Record was about the town's decision last Wednesday night to borrow $3.5 million to buy the performing arts center from the nonprofit Mid-Hudson Civic Center for its continued use as a cultural center, and to buy other properties for outdoor recreational activities, like swimming and running. The proposal received a positive reaction from those attending the meeting, and was reported last Thursday at (https://bit.ly/2piPaIF) chroniclenewspaper.com.
Preserve Chester has called for Jamieson's resignation. The Anti-Defamation League is urging the New York State Attorney General to "investigate further," not only the comments made to the Record but also the town's proposal to adopt a ward system to elect town board members, which will be on the ballot this November.
Gerald Benjamin, a professor and director of the Benjamin Center at SUNY New Paltz, spoke to Chester residents at the senior center on June 21 about the proposed ward system. "Hasidic citizens define their community religiously, not geographically, register to vote at high rates, are socially conservative, do not adhere consistently to one or the other major political party, and tend to vote in a block, directed by religious community leadership," he said.
The following month, Benjamin apologized for a comment he made in The New York Times about Democratic candidate Antonio Delgado, who is running as a Democrat in the 19th Congressional District. "Who makes a rap album the kind of guy who lives here in rural New York and reflects our lifestyles and values?" he was quoted as saying. He later said his commentary "is reasonably read as racist."
The statements from Preserve Chester and the Anti-Defamation League, both issued on Sept. 17, are provided below in their entirety:
Preserve ChesterEqual treatment for all, preferential treatment for none
The Town of Chester has made a lot of headlines in 2018. Some have been good but they have also been heavily outweighed by the bad. These headlines and comments do not represent the thoughts or goals of Preserve Chester. Preserve Chester has and always will be about Preserving Chester's rural character, getting people out to vote and maintaining equal representation in our town. Anyone has a right to buy a house anywhere. Preserve Chester (not our supervisor) has pushed for the ward system agenda because we want to maintain equal representation in all areas of our town as development continues. Alex Jamieson has many years of service to our town and has done some great things for the community which we are thankful for. However, Our town supervisor's comments of anti-Semitism has put a stain on our community. Between these comments and his upcoming court date for grand larceny, Preserve Chester feels it is in the best interest of the Town of Chester that Alex Jamieson resigns from his position as the Town Supervisor of Chester. Equal Treatment for All, Preferential Treatment for None. Preserve Chester.
ADL New York/New JerseyCondemns anti-Semitic comments from local official in Chester, New York
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today strongly condemned comments from a town supervisor in Orange County, calling the comments anti-Semitic and hateful.
According to local reporting, Alex Jamieson, Town Supervisor of the town of Chester, New York, explained, “The idea is to keep the Hasidic [sic] out,” as the justification for a recent Town purchase of a nine-acre property, as well as the Town’s consideration of adopting an open-space preservation program and instituting a ward system for electing Town Board members.
“The comments from Chester Town Supervisor Alex Jamieson are anti-Semitic, plain and simple,” said Evan R. Bernstein, ADL’s New York / New Jersey Regional Director. “No one should speak this way,” Bernstein continued, “but these comments are particularly abhorrent coming from an elected government official.”
According to reporting, the nine-acre land purchase is part of an alleged “sweeping effort” to buy up as much open land in the Town as possible to stem the influx of Hasidic Jewish families. The town is reportedly finalizing contracts to acquire land totaling 186 acres. “This is just the first phase,” Supervisor Jamieson is quoted as saying, “the fear of KJ expanding into Chester is scaring people half to death.” KJ refers to Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic village in the neighboring town of Monroe, which has seen rapid population growth.
ADL’s Evan Bernstein said further, “Concerns over land use and overdevelopment do not excuse prejudice or bigotry. Any effort targeting people on account of their faith, ethnicity, or appearance is abhorrent. We unequivocally condemn Town Supervisor Jamieson’s comments and call on all Chester officials and community leaders to denounce them as well. Particularly during the High Holidays, and at a time when incidents of anti-Semitism are at record-levels, Supervisor Jamieson’s remarks are deeply hurtful and bigoted. We strongly urge the New York State Attorney General to investigate further.”
ADL is a leading anti-hate organization. Founded in 1913 in response to an escalating climate of anti-Semitism and bigotry, its timeless mission is to protect the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment for all. Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of hate with the same vigor and passion. ADL is the first call when acts of anti-Semitism occur. A global leader in exposing extremism, delivering anti-bias education and fighting hate online, ADL’s ultimate goal is a world in which no group or individual suffers from bias, discrimination or hate. More at adl.org.
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