#ramapo

[photos under cut]

'... Michael Specht, supervisor of the town of Ramapo, which provides government services to Monsey, said the attack took place during a Hanukkah celebration at the home of Rabbi Chaim L. Rottenberg, next to a synagogue. Monsey is an enclave of ultra-Orthodox Jews about 35 miles from New York City.

At least one of the victims was "seriously hurt," he said.

Chabad.org, the website of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, published details that the organization's spokesman, Rabbi Motti Seligson, said are based on witnesses and other sources.

The site reported the suspect was wearing a scarf over his face and, after stabbing five and being chased from the home, tried to get into the synagogue but was blocked by people inside who had barricaded the door. The victims, according to the organization, were Hasidic Jews.

Cuomo visited Rabbi Rottenberg early Sunday before meeting with Jewish leaders in Monsey.

“This is an intolerant time in our country,” he said to reporters outside the rabbi's home on Sunday morning. “We see anger, we see hatred exploding.”

He added: “It is an American cancer on the body politic.”

The Historical Society of Rockland County Invites You to Join Us for

“Women of the

Ramapough Lenape Nation”

An exhibition of alternative photographs

by Lisa Levart

When: Opening Reception, Sunday, September 9, 2018, 1-4 pm

Where: HSRC Galleries, 20 Zukor Road, New City, NY

Price: $FREE

“Women of the Ramapough Lenape Nation” is the culmination of an eighteen-month creative collaboration between the artist and Ramapough Lenape women from Rockland and Bergen counties. The exhibition will run alongside “Rockland Voices,” the HSRC’s semi-permanent exhibition on Rockland history that presents highlights from the permanent collection to explore themes and objects that are key to understanding the county’s history, including Lenape lifeways and culture.

Spirit of the Mountain Singers and dancers from the Ramapough Lenape tribe will perform at the opening reception, which is open to the public free of charge.

Ms. Levart used reremembered sacred stories as a foundation for contemporary reinterpretations of the Lenape mythology. She uses a technique of collaging image layers—metal, wood, water, and concrete—into photographic portraits, then individually hand-painting them with an encaustic medium of beeswax and damar resin. The applied wax alters the final images, blending contemporary and ancient portraiture across the expanse of time. Her work has been shown in numerous galleries and public venues, including the Edward Hopper House, Rockland Center for the Arts, Pomona Cultural Arts Center, and Berrie Center at Ramapo College.

“The goal of the project is to reflect our unique community, bring more awareness and visibility to the indigenous women of the land we all call home, and serve as an agent of change,” she says. "I hope that viewers will gain a deeper mindfulness of our collective heritage, as well as an appreciation for the different traditions that have had an impact on the Hudson Valley."

"Women of the Ramapough Lenape Nation,” which will be on display at the Historical Society of Rockland County from September 9 to October 28, was made possible with funds from the Decentralization Program (DEC), a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NYS Legislature, and administered by ArtsWestchester. “Rockland Voices” was made possible by a grant from the Sterling Bank Charitable Foundation.

Please RSVP to (845) 634-9629 or [email protected].

***

Trial in the Ramapo College rape case of two men accused of sexually assaulting a woman who was plied with alcohol at a fraternity party was put off Monday, May 22 until April 16, 2018.

The trial of Christian Lopez of Secaucus, 26, and Nakeem Gardner of Paterson, 20, was supposed to start Tuesday May 23, with jury selection. But defense attorney John Bruno of Bruno & Ferraro, Rutherford, has a medical emergency and isn’t available.

The victim, who was sitting in the courtroom with family and friends, was visibly distressed at the delay, repeatedly putting her head in her hands. However, ultimately she appeared to accept the postponement was necessary.