The Governor of New York, David Paterson, has made a historic visit to The Hampton Synagogue in Westhampton Beach, on Long Island, New York, where some residents have vocally opposed an eruv on the grounds that the Orthodox Jewish population would increase as a result. The Governor has repudiated this anti-Jewish campaign and supports the establishment of an eruv, a symbolic and low-profile series of wires that permits Orthodox Jews to carry outside their homes on Shabbat. Although establishing eruvs has become fairly routine and has never caused actual disruption, there have nevertheless been efforts to block eruvs in a few communities in the United States, in the United Kingdom, and elsewhere. Leading the Westhampton Beach effort to secure an eruv and reject any infringement on the civil rights of Jewish citizens is Rabbi Marc Schneier, Rabbi of The Hampton Synagogue and Chairman of the World Jewish Congress American Section.
The visit received widespread press coverage:
