A candidate in the May election for the Board of Education in Great Neck is Emil Hakimi, who, in an online chat expressed disrespect for the rule of law.
This makes him unsuitable to be a school trustee. That’s too bad: It rules out a healthy public discourse among candidates.
Most candidates want to join a team of people working on behalf of children, on behalf of all of us. Hakimi seems, by his own description, a person who would do away with what we know as the balanced approach our school trustees bring to their tasks.
He asserts, for example, that the only children he is interested in are his own. He writes: “Do you support mask mandates in our schools? If so, you are attacking my children.”
He also writes: “…we have like 10 people in Great Neck who are loud and obnoxious” who support mask-wearing and “they [are] the ones setting policy.”
His “10” is short-hand for dismissing the rest of us in a community of 40,000. His “loud and obnoxious” at public meetings actually oppose masks. He aims “the ones setting policy” at the school board. New York state sets policy on masking, but he targets the school board anyway.
He joins the newly elected Nassau County executive to “defy NYS.” He adds: “Similar to how Florida defies Biden”… “we are gonna turn Great Neck into our little slice of Florida.” He suggests “disobedience” to the Department of Health of New York State. His disdain for science puts the health of all of us at risk, and not just from COVID-19.
Hakimi threatened the school board that it will “change its tune” when “3,000 to 4,000” voters turn out to vote for him. He is not in the arena of advocacy for education, so he is not speaking about massive support from the parent body of public schoolchildren. He is speaking about votes from religious congregations.
Something has been happening here on our peninsula and on pain of a fervent denunciation no one is supposed to tell: Candidates and their proxies are soliciting votes and absentee ballots in houses of worship.
This ballot gathering is a problem for congregations and clergy: Houses of worship jeopardize their non-profit status by allowing politics to pollute their hallowed halls. The rabbis in my synagogue of old would never have tolerated such a compromise on the sanctity of G-d’s house.
A wall separates church and state, Thomas Jefferson wrote, and this is core to our country. The two realms, spiritual and temporal, are distinct or should be.
Hakimi is not alone in mistaking religion as the servant of politics. Pedram Bral, mayor of the Village of Great Neck, in a videotaped speech at Chabad following the November 2021 election, promised the coming of a political “bloodbath.”
While Bral and Company invariably find comfort in negativity, families in Great Neck recognize that we derive our prosperity from the renown of our enviable institutions, our public schools, our library, our parks, our volunteer fire companies.
The value of our homes, a primary financial investment, resides with these institutions that serve us. Damage our institutions and we damage ourselves.
Bral set the standard with his secret conclaves with developers and his public complaints against practically every institution spending our taxes to maintain what we treasure and want to preserve about living here.
Some residents devalue our community and are intent on setting fire to it. They light a match to burn our institutions and claim it is their freedom to do so. They blame our teachers for revisiting our country’s checkered history on equality. They blame our library for harboring books they can’t wait to burn, books that belong in a society open and welcoming.
Most of all they blame Democrats, who bear witness, who sound the alarm. If they can destroy the Democrats, the fire will rage on. It used to be we could count on Republicans as well to stand for our Constitution, but the Republican Party abandoned its principles.
If they succeed in taking away someone else’s freedom, their freedom will be next, along with mine and yours.
Listen and hear what they say. They swarm around us with endless repetitions of bogus topics: Immigration is a threat, they say (though we are a nation of nothing but immigrants); Heed what is coming, they say, murders on our doorsteps (as though we live on a street in the Ukraine). Each fiction appeals to fear and prejudice. The general public knows nothing about bail, so they weaponize bail and call for its “reform.” It’s all a distraction. Their true goal is to have you vote for them, so they have the power to contaminate and degrade the definition of justice.
Spreading lies and making fights is a way of life for those who have no interest in American democracy. They represent only destruction. It is up to us to stand in their way.
Going forward through 2022, watch out for people who want to topple rather than support.
The school vote is in May, the library in October, the midterm statewide election in November, and the park district in December. Add your vote to mine.
Rebecca Rosenblatt Gilliar
Great Neck
I would love a little slice of FL in NY. Go Emil!!
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This comment section has very, very many people pretending to be people that they’re not. This is childish and is not the sort of thing we should be seeing in an election. Whether you support Emil or not, understand that some of his supporters are being very obnoxious and dishonest here.
Given the number of people who left NY for Florida in the last 2 years, the loss of a NY congressional seat, it sounds like Emil has the right idea. Can’t wait to vote on 5/17!
Writers like Rebecca really don’t get how in the minority they are.
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Dear “Resident” –
Writers like Rebecca have the courage to post their opinions under their own name – and in that respect, you are correct, she’s in the minority. Look at how many comments have been posted here by people pretending to be someone else, or simply calling themselves “Resident.”
Why are you afraid to sign your name to your opinion?
A slice of Florida in New York? Emil just won my vote.
Wow. This is sad. I can’t believe people speak and behave this way. What a sad world we live in. And this article is a bit pathetic! Written poorly and is going off of assumptions. No facts in this article at all. These kind of bashing articles makes me more curious about Emil and what he has to offer and maybe he’ll get my vote and everyone I know.
Every state would be better off being more like FL.
Emil Hakimi will be a great addition to the board.
Brooo do you see what I see? No, this can’t be real… Omg dude… Bro I think you just posted cringe bro. Smh. This is going to have consequences my friend. You gonna lose subscriber!!!! Bro you gonna lose subscriber. Don’t you realize? You gonna lose subscriber! Go back to your cringe subscriber on cringe.com and cry like a cringe baby. Even your cringe subscriber are going to lose subscriber. That’s how cringe you are. Have fun losing your fucking subscriber.
Florida in Great Neck? Sign me up!
Whoever this Kate Goldberg is, here’s the one from Moms and Dads of Great Neck. And I’m definitely NOT supporting Emil Hakimi. If I wanted Florida, I would go to Florida. But I want Great Neck. And I want Great Neck to keep its educational excellence. I will vote for Donna Peirez.
Emil is kinda sus ngl
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Strongly considering moving to Florida but if Emil can bring FL to GN, then I’m a happy camper
This ridiculous article just cemented my vote for Emil Hakimi. Would love to bring Florida common sense to NYC, and do away with the current board of Ed child abusers and indoctrinators.
Wow! I didn’t know the Board of Ed addressed issues like the mayor, ballot gathering, Florida politics, the war in Ukraine, illegal immigration, and the ineptitude of the current administration in the White House.
Go Emil !!
I didn’t know the board of Ed addressed all these topics like immigration the war in Ukraine the mayor of Great Neck, the White House, and Floridian politics.
Go Emil
After thinking about this for a while I’ve turned a corner and very much believe I will be voting for Emil this May 17.
Just to be clear – THIS IS THE ONLY COMMENT FROM ME ON THIS POST.
The trolls have apparently taken over the Island 360 website.
Sad to see the depths to which local journalism has sunk.
This Nina is an imposter.
The real Nina appreciates local journalism!
Will the real Nina please stand up? How do we know who’s who? Not sure who to believe.
This board is brainwashing our kids. They need to all move to Oklahoma and start their own cult. Go Emil
I fully support Emil. Enough with trying to turn our kids into little squad members. Bring back real education!!
Why do we have a coming out day in middle school? Kids are already confused enough and they are being persuaded by teachers and this board. Enough is enough. We want back our schools for the masses not for the liberal mask wearing few. I am voting for Emil.
Who is Kate Goldberg’s wife?
Rebecca Rosenblatt Gilliar you need a hug! Go take a walk, enjoy the weather, go on a vacation. This whole article was a waste of time even reading.
I fully agree with the author here! There was no sadder day in recent memory than the day child masking was made optional. Children are at super high risk for covid and even higher risk of single handedly killing their vaccinated and double masked teachers. We need to BRING BACK CHILD MASKING!
I have to disagree.
Making the masks optional was the happiest day for parents and kids alike.
Show me the fact that prove teachers are dying from COVID!
Sicko.
I will vote for Donna because I want my 4 year old to feel like a walrus on Monday and a giraffe on Tuesday. That is his truth. She will ensure that the bathrooms at school are species neutral.
I will vote for Donna because I want my 11 year old to know that she is inherently a cannibal, because thousands of years ago, cannibals roamed the earth.
I will vote for Donna because these pestering, meddling parents have to learn to butt out of the grooming of their children.
Been a registered democrat since 1972 and voted for Biden but what’s going on in our public schools is terrifying. Wasn’t going to vote but now I will for Mr. Hakimi.
We can’t leave the world like this for our children and grandchildren to inherit. It is our civic duty to combat the lunacy.
#TeamEmil
I am at a loss of words. The last few minutes of my life have withered away from me. What a waste of time it was to read this garbage. It may seem like a better idea to have members of the board be of a certain age. Can we try and reform the by laws and have term limits? Some of these members are outdated and are bringing their own agendas to the table. Politics have become dirty. Seeing Rebecca take her time to write such garbage just proves how her outlook can reflect on the future of Great Neck.
Shame on all of you. Just because Donna Peirez is a member of a school board that apparently thinks it’s OK for 7th graders to read books rife with the N-word and that calls women “ho’s” and explicitly talks about their behinds like a gangster rap video doesn’t mean she’s a bad person.
I for one have faith that Donna and President Sassouni will continue the progressive angle that they have been pushing in our schools. I think it’s lovely that middle schoolers have a day where they are encouraged to “come out”. A ten year surely knows what is best for themselves.
I have a child that has almost peed his pants because there is only one functioning bathroom but that’s not a concern because at least now we have a gender neutral bathroom.
Vote for Donna. She knows better than you what is best for your kids.
Rebecca Gilliar
Do you have children in the school? If not then perhaps you should have a sit down with some parents before you go on an attack on our religion and culture
Mehran Hakimian
We have spoken about it and agree that our future is brighter with Emil for school board!!
go Emil!!
Nina & Kate 4eva
I have decided to not run. I am not qualified.
Vote for Emil and pray the gay away!
“If they succeed in taking away someone else’s freedom, their freedom will be next, along with mine and yours.”
How ironic that you say this right after you bash a father for objecting to mask mandates for his children and for speaking out in an online forum.
The hypocrisy is unreal.
Go Emil!!!
I personally won’t be voting for Emil because I love the current curriculum. I only wish we were taught some math so I could keep up with all the genders we are being told about every day. I’m also worried that Emil will force us to learn how to prepare for the workforce, when we should be understanding how not to cause life threatening harm with our words.
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This comment section has very, very many people pretending to be people that they’re not. This is childish and is not the sort of thing we should be seeing in an election. Whether you support Emil or not, understand that some of his supporters are being very obnoxious and dishonest here.
Are we middle schoolers in this forum or are people going to act like adults, do actual through investigation into the issues, and vote informed? Get it together, people, and stop with the nonsense and impersonations.
There are more than enough examples of what is going on in our very own schools. Are you implying that the teachers and school board should be transparent and show us what they are actually teaching our children? What more can be done to see what’s going on other than our children showing us. Even then, was we’ve seen across the country, students are encouraged to keep their parents out of the loop my their teachers.
Get a sense of humor. Stop crying about sarcastic comments that bring into the light out concerns for this generation of children and future ones.
Let’s get a sense of humor you say…
I’m sure the lgbt+ students that are bullied and see members of our community talk about how it’s a mental illness, are laughing so hard at these jokes.
So to all those making light of the situation, f*ck you. Try putting yourself in the shoes of an lgbt student.
What you are talking about is completely different from what the concerns of parents and even students are. The concern is that students are no longer being educated to strive in the real world. They are being taught to hate themselves and fear society if they don’t conform to the new micro-cause of the moment. Bullying of any kid has always been frowned upon not let’s be real, teaching kids to hate each other or themselves because of the color of the skin they were born with is the opposite of being progressive. Convincing children that science and biology doesn’t apply when it comes to the outrage of a loud minority only hurts society in the long run.
The comments above are bullying.
You don’t think comments like this aren’t a form of bullying?
“I will vote for Donna because I want my 4 year old to feel like a walrus on Monday and a giraffe on Tuesday. That is his truth. She will ensure that the bathrooms at school are species neutral.”
You don’t think pretending to be someone else when posting online isn’t a form of bullying?
Someone answer this:
You have a child that is gay. They go to their teacher and say “I’m gay but my parents won’t except me, I need some help”. What should the teacher do? Any response in Florida will get you fired.
What if a student asks “can men marry each other?” If you’re in Florida and say “yes”, you can now be fired.
Sad to see that coward Emil chose not to appear at the Candidate Forum last night. This “fighter” is too scared to answer questions that may be tough. How pathetic.
Hi Truth,
If any child in grades K to 3 comes and tells their teacher that they’re not accepted by their parents because of their sexual orientation, we as a society need to think real deeply about where we went wrong and why we are grooming kids that young to think about sex.
And if a teacher teaches them about the topic, forget about getting fired. He or she or they needs to get arrested and charged for child abuse.
I’m confused, is this an article or an editorial?
If it’s an article it is biased and factually inaccurate. If it’s an editorial then the author needs to repeat grade school with greater emphasis on writing and reading skills and present an argument with a little more vigor then that of a gilted tween. Either way, my time has been wasted reading this and I’m feel a debt is owed.