TEANECK, NJ – A Teaneck, New Jersey school board meeting broke out into chaos after a resident called for violence against Jews, shouting out, “From the river to the sea, by any [expletive] means necessary.”
That outburst followed a rant about Jews, calling them devils, liars, and murderers. The comments were allegedly quotes from the bible. The phrase “From the river to the sea” has been a rallying call against the state of Israel.
It calls for the establishment of a State of Palestine from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, erasing the State of Israel and, according to many interpretations, of its people.
School board officials attempted to interrupt the diatribe as inappropriate for the meeting and off-topic, but the man continued. The speech was a protest to the teachings of the holocaust in the public school district.
“I’m from the Caribbean,” he added. “We had plantations that were run by Jews. You cannot teach us anything about genocide. Our genocide was four hundred years running. The countless black victims of our holocaust, you cannot equate. You cannot teach anyone about genocide.”
The man wasn’t the first to stand up and make anti-Semitic comments during the meeting.
After the outburst, the school board shut down public comments as members of the audience began chanting, “Free Palestine!”
Rabbi Michael Taubes said the man shouting, identified as Rick Whilby, threatened him while he was waiting online and caused a disturbance with other Jewish members of the public.
“While waiting on line even before he spoke, he hurled a hateful insult at one of the previous speakers and was warned by one of the security personnel to shut his mouth. But even if he had to be allowed to make his “presentation,” as soon as he started, calling the Jews descendants of Satan, Christ-killers, etc., he should have been silenced and escorted out of the building immediately,” Rabbi Taubes said. “But he wasn’t. He was allowed to continue until many of the Jewish people in the room, sickened by his disgusting diatribe, decided to walk out because they realized that you, the Board, had lost control of the proceedings, as this deranged man then started screaming, “F… you” to everybody. At that point, he was finally removed from the room, and with the police present, calm could and would have easily been restored and the evening could have continued as scheduled.”
Instead, the board made the decision to stop all public comments, a move Rabbi Taubes said was unfair, considering many had waited online to speak for over an hour.
“Where is your respect for the residents of this town who gave of their time to attend your meeting in the hope of sharing something practical and useful, or just to voice their opinions about the issues at hand, as is their right? Where is your sense of integrity, leadership, and accountability?” Taub asked school board members.
After the remarks, public comment was canceled, Rabbi Taubes attempted to ask the board to allow peaceful people to speak, Vice President Victoria Fisher told him, “Get the [expletive] away from the table,” according to an email Rabbi Taubes sent the Board of Education.
Taube is a high school teacher with over 40 years of experience and called upon the Board of Education members to do some ‘serious soul searching’ after last night’s fiasco.
Earlier, Whilby spoke during a student-led walkout where he not only echoed his sentiment ‘by any means necessary’, but spoke about the “Israelization” of police in America.
“They are here to occupy,” he said of police officers.