Community Magazine Februafy 2009

116 Community magazine Life in the Big City Lost Jew Calls on Muslims to Target Community Shuls Going by the name Yusuf Khatab, this American born Islamist activist is no ordinary Muslim. He used to attend synagogue regu- larly and may very well have sat beside any one of us in shul. Born Leonard Cohen to a secular family, his first move at a young age was to Williamsburg where he lived among the ranks of Satmar Hassidim, he then moved to the Flatbush area of Brooklyn where he attended a number of Sephardic synagogues. A short time later he moved to Israel where he tried to get close to the leadership of the Sephardic Shas party. Claiming to have become “disenchanted” by the political activity of the party, Leonard befriended a Muslim via the internet, and this “friend” ultimately helped him, his wife and his four children adopt an Islamic lifestyle. Still unable to keep still and find fulfill- ment, Leonard reportedly moved several more times to Netivot, Jerusalem, and Morocco. Leonard has now called upon Muslims worldwide to take action against what he calls the “Zionist oppression.” He encourages his coreligionists to obtain the names of Jewish organizations and synagogues, and their corresponding board members’ home addresses, to protest their support of the Jewish State. In a video broadcast on the Internet, Leonard singled out by name Shaare Zion, Ahi Ezer and Ahava Ve’Ahava, claiming them to be among the largest synagogues in America. Leonard continues to broad- cast on the website revolutionmuslim.com which he manages, and where he consistently advocates action against supporters of Israel. – J ACK C OHEN More Tourists in NYC New York City set new records for visitors and tourist revenue in 2008. According to estimates, last year the city hosted 47 mil- lion visitors who spent $30 billion. Mayor Bloomberg attributed the increase to growing international tourism. NYC & Company, the City’s marketing and tourism organization, expanded its reach to 25 international markets, launched new marketing campaigns, and opened new offices in California and Illinois. Last year, the City surpassed top destinations such as Orlando and Las Vegas to rank first in tourism spending in the United States for the first time. Despite the economic downturn, New York City’s hotel occupancy rate remains more than 20 percent higher than the national average. Over the past year, NYC & Company opened new international tourism marketing offices in Toronto, Sydney, and Mumbai. – C ORRESPONDENT D AVE G ORDON No More “Gotcha” Tickets New Yorkers may receive a five-minute “grace period” for certain parking violations under a new bill, announced by Council Member Simcha Felder of Brooklyn. The grace period would affect no-parking zone viola- tions (such as alternate side) and expired Muni- Meters. “Tickets should be issued to encourage compliance, not to generate revenue for the city,” said Felder at a recent press conference, “and ‘Gotcha’ tickets fly in the face of that philosophy.” Last year, 10 percent of the tickets for alternate-side violations were issued within two minutes of the rule taking effect. The legislation would excuse drivers who inadvertently overrun a Muni-Meter by just a few minutes, or leave their car in a street- sweeping zone for a moment too long, which currently result in fines of up to $100. A five-minute grace period was previously in place as part of the city’s traffic enforcement policy, but has since been replaced with a recommendation to traffic agents to use com- mon sense when doling out tickets. – C ORRESPONDENT D AVE G ORDON Anti-Semitic Vandalism Found at Local Yeshiva Just two days before intersession, Shaare Torah Girls Elementary School, on Ocean Parkway at the corner of Church Avenue, was vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti. Faculty members who arrived on the morning on January 13 th saw the words “Kill Jews” and “Nazi was here” scrawled on the metal and glass doors of the yeshiva building. The graffiti, which included a swastika on the building facade, appeared to have been drawn with a marker as opposed to spray paint and was only several inches tall. The area was cor- doned off as the NYPD Hate Crimes Unit declared the zone a crime scene. The graf- fiti was then quickly cleaned and students were generally unaware of the incident. Anyone with infor- mation about the crime is asked con- tact the 66 th precinct at 718-851-5611. – J ACK C OHEN  ”  Photos: chaptzem (L-r) council Members david Weprin, simcha felder and Vincent Gentile ripping mock parking tickets..