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Long Beach synagogues honor local police with Labor Day barbecue

Rabbi Benny Berlin said law-enforcement officers “have continued to provide an envelope of safety around our communities.”

Long Beach City Hall, New York
City Hall in Long Beach, N.Y. Credit: Antony-22 via Wikimedia Commons.

For the third consecutive year, the Jewish community of Long Beach and Lido Beach on Long Beach Barrier Island in New York haw shown its appreciation for the Long Beach Police Department and Nassau County Police Department.

The Benai Asher Sephardic Congregation hosted a barbecue welcoming those in law enforcement, their families and members of local synagogues.

“The events of Oct. 7 and the protests which have ensued in support of Hamas and sought to normalize its atrocities, shook the global Jewish community,” said Rabbi Benny Berlin, Long Beach Police chaplain and a leader at Bachurei Chemed–BACH Jewish Center.

“The officers of the Long Beach and Nassau County Police departments have continued to provide an envelope of safety around our communities,” the rabbi said.

He added that “we are extremely thankful for their efforts to not only keep us safe but for their determination to maintain a constant feeling of safety for us all.”

Long Beach Police Commissioner Richard DePalma said “synagogues, along with our other faith-based communal partners, play an integral role in our community. We are one community—the Long Beach community—and this barbecue is a generous gesture that reinforces that.”

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