Jewish Voice and Opinion November 2012 by Susan Rosenbluth

http://jewishvoiceandopinion.com

Boteach vs. Pascrell supporters of Rep Steven Rothman, Mr. Pascrell’s opponent in the June 2012 Democratic Primary, of dual loyalty: caring more about Israel than they did about the US. The other was the Jordanian immigrant Imam Mohammad Qatanani, who has called the creation of the state of Israel “the greatest disaster which occurred on the face of the Earth.” Imam Qatanani has denied that Jews had any historical presence in or current rights to Israel and has encouraged his followers to read and adhere to the teachings of Sheikh Yusuf alQaradawi who has praised Hitler for “putting the Jews in their place.” “Allah willing, the next time [the Jews are punished], it will be at the hand of the believers [Muslims],” he has said. Mr. Assaf and Imam Qatanani are supporters of Mr. Pascrell, who still maintains a close relationship with both of them. Mr. Pascrell, who won the Democratic primary last June for the newly redrawn 9th Congressional District (after representing the 8th District since 1997), is now running against GOP challenger, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. Reflecting the concerns of many in the large Jewish communities in the district, Rabbi Boteach has noticed and called attention to Mr. Pascrell’s involvement with Messrs Grabowski, Assaf, and Qatanani. Renaming the Park Clifton straddles Passaic and joins it to form one of the largest Jewish communities in the state. In September, with Mr. Pascrell’s enthusiastic written endorsement, the city of Clifton announced that it would name a portion of Richardson Scale Park for Mr. Grabowski. Mr. Grabowski, who died last April at the age of 86, was the publisher of the Post

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Eagle. He was known for publicly suggesting that the Holocaust was exaggerated, and that “some Jews” wanted to “destroy Christianity” and were responsible for imposing communism on his native Poland. In the Post Eagle, Jews were often referred to as “vermin,” “animals,” and “Christ killers.” Mr. Grabowski told his readers never to “forget and forgive” the Jewish people for “deciding to kill our God, and their God, which they refuse to recognize.” In one of his editorials, he wrote, “The Day of Reckoning is coming, and then these animals will be answerable for their crimes against Poland and her people. Unfortunately, the just and righteous Jews will also suffer for the lies and distortions of their brethren…There are animals within the Jewish community, here in the USA, who deliberately etched numbers on their wrists to benefit from the Reparation funds.” Racism Mr. Grabowski also ran ads for the Ku Klux Klan, including one in 1988 wishing “all Polonia a merry White Christmas” illustrated by a drawing of Santa Claus wearing a Klan hood. In 1992, Mr. Grabowski hosted an event for the late British neoNazi politician John Tyndall. In 1984, the Bergen Record daily newspaper published an article documenting Mr. Grabowski’s “hate-filled writings,” including his insistence that the Jewish death toll during the Holocaust was “closer to 2 million” rather than the accepted estimate of 6 million. Recently in The Record, former New Jersey NAACP political director Walter Fields recalled Mr. Grabowski’s “profound and profane ‘talent’ for reaching new depths of racism.” Mr. Fields remembered a

New Year’s letter he received from Mr. Grabowski in 1995 in which the Post Eagle publisher said, “Again, here is wishing you a horrible 1995. Perhaps Aids, sickle cell anemia, cancer, or other terminal illness will fell you this coming year. One can only hope. Here’s hoping! Your Pal, Chet.” Mr. Grabowski published the Post Eagle for 50 years and ran unsuccessfully for Clifton City Council in 1962 and for governor in 1977 and 1981. His daughter, Christine Witmyer, now runs the paper which is said to have 50,000 subscribers. Polish-American Support The section of the park to be named for Mr. Grabowski is located in the Athenia section of Clifton, a heavily PolishAmerican community, where many approved of the memorial. On September 26, Mr. Pascrell sent a letter to Clifton Mayor James Anzaldi and the members of the City Council offer-

ing his support for the effort. “I knew Chester for many years and he was a great friend. He was a kind and respected man who would help anyone in need and he was a friend to all. Chester was an individual who cared about the City of Clifton and was a strong advocate of the Polish-American community, not only in the City of Clifton, but all across the great State of New Jersey…For this, I whole heartedly support the honor of memorializing the Richard Scales Park to a resident, a businessman, and a leader in the City of Clifton, Mr. Chester Grabowski. His legacy will not only be that of a successful newspaper he operated for many years, but the family man who worked so hard for his community,” Mr. Pascrell wrote. Dershowitz Like most people, Dr. Goska heard about the suggested me-

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