Former Westhampton Beach Deputy Mayor To Leave Hometown

By Ian Stark

Former Westhampton Beach Deputy Mayor Tim Laube reports that he continues to deal with anti-Semitism because of his feelings toward the construction of an eruv around a local synagogue. The situation has become so inflamed - with Laube receiving threatening, anti-Semitic phone messages - that he has chosen to leave his home town.

According to Laube, who grew up in Westhampton Beach, the attacks began following the release of a June 12 advertisement in The Southampton Press placed by a group called The Westhampton Beach Alliance for the Separation of Church and State (WHBASCS). Laube had been running for mayor against incumbent Conrad Teller, and he first saw the signs of bias problems following a town meeting where he claims he was unexpectedly and repeatedly asked if he supported the construction of an eruv around Westhampton Beach. The eruv - an invisible boundary that would allow Orthodox members of the synagogue to observe traditional Shabbat rules concerning the carrying of children and belongings across a property line - requires lines on utility poles and would need approval through the village board.

But the proposal was met with some opposition. Those against it feared, erroneously, that it would mean the Jewish population could cross others' private property, and that village stores could eventually become subject to Shabbat rules (like venues located in other areas with large Jewish populations, such as Lawrence in Nassau County), and have to close during the Sabbath day. Laube feels that concern is a "smokescreen" for a more disturbing truth: that an eruv would inspire an influx of Jews into the Westhampton Beach community. He bases his feeling on experiences he had when he was running for Westhampton Beach mayor, when he would hear many of the villagers' thoughts.

"People at the door would actually say to me 'I don't care what you have to do, you have to show these Jews you won't roll over,'" Laube said. "And that came from [a community member] I knew for 20 years!"

According to Laube, it was during the town meeting where Rabbi Marc Schneier first attempted to explain the idea behind the demarcation that someone in the crowd responded audibly, "Oh, great, that's all we need: more Jews in Southampton."

The synagogue soon withdrew the proposal in response to the outcry. In a May 23 letter sent to Mayor Teller and the WHB Board of Trustees, Schneier included this paragraph:

"...the eruv has evoked controversy in the village. Since I am a rabbi who believes in promoting tolerance, I choose not to attribute untoward or foul motives to those who have circulated clearly offensive e-mails or remarks saying that business owners have been asked by me or members of the Jewish community to close their stores on Saturday; that the eruv will allow Jews to walk on private property of individuals on the way to synagogue; and that this is the beginning of a push by the rabbi to create 'another Lawrence.'" Parenthetically, however, it is hard not to understand the true meaning of one expression that has been used: 'Just what we need, more Jews.'"

Although the eruv plans were taken back (as of this writing, the synagogue has expressed plans to propose them again in the fall), Laube says he was harshly grilled at a town meeting - at which the eruv was not on the agenda - where one woman insisted Laube comment on the proposal. Laube admitted, "Perhaps it wasn't the most politically savvy thing to do," but said he went on to explain to the woman that he did support it and saw no harm in its existence. Within days, the WHBASCS ad appeared in The Southampton Press, asking: "Is Westhampton Beach a Christian Community?" and "Is Westhampton Beach an Orthodox Jewish Community?" The ad declared "no" as the answer to both questions, but stated that the eruv would proclaim Westhampton Beach as an "Orthodox Jewish Community for all time." Exclamations of "Don't Let It Happen!" appeared, and then the copy inferred that a vote for Laube was "a vote for the eruv." (It also made this claim against former Fox 5 News anchor John Roland, who ran unsuccessfully for Westhampton Beach Deputy Mayor Jim Kametler's board seat.)

Since the appearance of the ad, Laube has received several blocked phone calls that included threats and hurled insults. There have been 12 calls so far, including one as recently as August 14.

"It started the week before the election," said Laube. "The calls started with 'you're a Jew-lover, you're going to burn in hell'...the last one on August 14, from a private name, private number, was, 'I hate you, you're a dumb Jew, I hope you die, ____ you.' At first I thought this was a joke, but I soon realized it was real."

Laube explained that while he did not know the caller's identity, he recognized it as a woman, and as a senior citizen. It reminded him of anti-Semitism stories from his family before he was born. His late mother - a Catholic Westhampton Beach native - told Tim she had received a "hard time" from town church leaders when she wanted to marry his father, who was a non-practicing Jew from Center Moriches. "But that was 1954!" he exclaimed. "This is 2008!" He went on say that when he served as a reporter for The Southampton Press, he would hear the occasional jab that the synagogue controlled the mayor and the town, but that when he was a board member he was never approached by any members of the temple. Laube further pointed out that no more than 30 members of Hampton Synagogue are registered to vote in Westhampton Beach, but he wouldn't be surprised if the reaction against the eruv led to an increase.

Laube said he supported the eruv due to his personal feelings toward religious freedom, regardless of his heritage, and cited it as something akin to the church bells of St. Mark's that can be heard throughout the area. He also referenced a similar case that took place in 1999 in Tenafly, NJ, in which the community had fought the construction of an eruv there. After five years of legal battles, Bergen County approved the proposal, costing the town $1 million in legal fees plus the reimbursement sum of $325,000 to the Tenafly Eruv Association for its court costs. Laube pointed out that Westhampton Beach only has a yearly budget of $9 million, and expressed fear that a legal battle could be a major financial blow to the town.

Meanwhile, tension continues to flair. A town meeting held on August 13 included a reading of some of the e-mails that the synagogue has received - many containing anti-Semitic remarks - after which a third of the audience walked out. And while the debate swells, diatribes and controversy have spilled past the town's borders. Several websites that consider the global Jewish community its target demographic have taken notice of the reportedly biased comments made by opponents of the eruv. Sites such as The Jewish Week, Haaretz.com, , IsraelForum.com, jewishblogging.com, and The Yeshiva World News have turned this local situation into a topic that is now being discussed on an international level, and there are those who wonder how this could damage the reputation of Westhampton Beach.

Laube mentioned the Wednesday meeting, but explained why he chose not to attend. "Wednesday night, I was at a friend's house and thought, 'Should we go to this thing?'...and we all supported the eruv, but we thought the meeting would just be a train wreck. [I know] it was supposed to be an educational thing," he said, adding that he had heard that crowd members against the eruv were expressing some very blatant anti-Semitism. He added that a friend who was present described the meeting as "a mess" and said, "There was a lot of hatred in that building."

As for Laube, he's looking to leave. He had plans to purchase his brother's Westhampton Beach house, but with the intense nature of the anonymous calls he says he's still receiving, he has begun to feel unsafe in the town where he was born. "My parents ran the movie theater in town. I worked at the bowling alley," he stated. "I went to college and came back and wrote for the local paper...I enjoy the community, but I feel uncomfortable going out." He still describes Westhampton Beach as a great place with great people, calling those he considers guilty of anti-Semitism in town, "a minority, but a vocal minority and a powerful minority."

When asked if he felt that there is a concerted racial issue in Westhampton Beach, Laube said, "I didn't...but I do now."

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