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CityREVIEW NewRochelle July 7 & 14, 2017 | Vol. 5, Number 20 | www.cityreviewnr.com
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County lawmakers have their say on Israel, Palestine Iona Prep students compete in national tourney By JAMES PERO Staff Writer Westchester County lawmakers had their say in one of the world’s oldest and most divisive conflicts, Israel and Palestine, bringing international issues and bigotry to the forefront of its legislative chambers. On June 19, stemming from a proposal by Legislator Ken Jenkins, a Yonkers Democrat, the Board of Legislators voted to adopt a resolution reaffirming lawmakers’ continued support of U.S. relations with Israel, while rejecting calls to divest from Israeli businesses by the movement
Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions, BDS—a Palestinian faction that aims to pressure the state of Israel economically and politically through lobbying businesses and governments. According to Legislator Jim Maisano, a New Rochelle Republican, pressure from constituents across the county has forced issues of both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia to the legislative floor. Fueled in recent months by a slew of bomb threats to local Jewish Community Centers, including in New Rochelle, Maisano said county lawmakers have been under increasing scrutiny to take
a hard stance against bigotry. “We were getting phone calls and emails from different sides and different issues,” Maisano said. “We felt that this was the best way to deal with these issues that normally aren’t county issues.” In tandem with the resolution passed last week, the Board of Legislators also unanimously voted to adopt a resolution condemning hate crimes and bigotry across the county; a move Maisano said complements the body’s stance on BDS. While many legislators expressed their reticence toward ISRAEL continued on page 3
Following up on their success at the state level, six students from Iona Preparatory competed in the National Speech & Debate Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama, all last week, with three nearly breaking into octo-finals in their primary categories and two advancing in supplemental categories. Returning to nationals for the third consecutive year was New Rochelle resident Noah Darden, a 2014 Iona Preparatory Lower School graduate and rising senior at the Upper School who has qualified for the national tournament since his freshman year. This year, he competed in the
category of Programmed Oral Interpretation, having won the New York State Forensics League Tournament from April 29 to April 30, in the category of Original Oratory. Last week, Darden broke into the top 100 nationally in the Prose and Poetry categories; he was eliminated after the sixth round in Prose and following the seventh round in Poetry. Additionally, Darden is the inaugural recipient of the Ryan Coleman ’10 Memorial Scholarship, an award based on the ideals of academic excellence, kindness, helpfulness toward one’s school, sharing one’s talents, and commitment to community
service. At last year’s Nationals, Darden placed fifth out of 450 entrants and, just last month, he finished eighth in the Original Oratory category at the National Catholic Forensic League Tournament in Louisville, Ky. Not to be outdone, Jacob Cannon, a sophomore from Katonah competing in Extemporaneous Speaking survived into the third round of Editorial Commentary. Also represented by Iona Prep at the tournament were: • Patterson junior Anthony Rizzo, who competed in Informative Speaking. TOURNEY continued on page 3