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Rabbi Calls Out Westchester Youth Hockey League Team For Anti-Semitic Slurs, Taunts

Children playing in a youth hockey league in Westchester were reportedly the target of anti-Semitic slurs and taunts during a game, according to a prominent rabbi from the area.

Rabbi Avraham Weiss of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale.

Rabbi Avraham Weiss of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Avraham Weiss, the founding rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, and a longtime activist for Jewish causes and human rights, said that a member of his congregation who plays with the Scarsdale Youth Hockey Association was targeted during a game against North Park, along with some of his Jewish teammates.

Weiss said that during a game on Sunday, Nov. 10, a particular player and teammates with Jewish names “were singled out by their opponent and bullied and taunted with anti-Semitic slurs."

It is alleged that when one of the players fell to the ice, an opponent uttered an anti-Semitic slur. 

Mahen Kathirithamby, the president of the Scarsdale Youth Hockey Association, called the slurs and taunts "garbage," and said that the organization has already launched an investigation. 

He plans to reach out to governing bodies that include the New York State Amateur Hockey Association. He said the other team is reviewing the tape and working to get the particulars of this specific incident.

"We don't tolerate this. We're working with respective governing bodies as well as performing a thorough investigation that is moving quickly. We're not just laying in wait, we started well ahead of time so we can understand everything that happened. We're talking about incidents that occurred in a game that moves very quickly, so we're working to understand what happened and plant o make a measured and appropriate response." 

“Such actions are beyond reprehensible,” Weiss added. “They are unacceptable and cannot be tolerated. I demand that the leaders of the league take immediate action. Specifically, the referees at the game were informed and did nothing, and the head coach of the opposing team, who heard these slurs, did nothing. They deserve to be called out and seriously reprimanded and penalized.” 

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