"Shocked And Deeply Disturbed" By Stabbing At Smithtown High School

American Jewish Committee
Thursday, 8 May 1997

Joan Silverman, director of the Long Island Chapter of the American Jewish Committee, today issued the following statement:

"The Long Island Chapter of the American Jewish Committee is shocked and deeply disturbed by yesterday's bias incident at Smithtown High School, in which a 16 year-old student allegedly stabbed and seriously wounded a 15 year-old Jewish student.

"According to police reports, the two boys knew each other and Gregory Rohr, who allegedly perpetrated the stabbing, had made earlier attempts to harm this same classmate. Mr. Rohr, who has been arrested by the Smithtown police and charged with two counts of attempted murder, has made numerous blatantly anti-Semitic remarks and has apparently indicated that his intention was to kill his victim. Mr. Rohr is being arraigned today and we urge that he be punished to the full extent the law allows for such heinous hate crimes.

"The Long Island Chapter of AJC has worked through the years in public middle and high schools, including in Smithtown, to create and implement programs that not only help students learn about the evils of racism, bigotry and intolerance throughout history but also provide them with the necessary tools to fight against it in their own school environment and in their communities.

"Such hatred has no place in our schools and no place in our society. We recommit ourselves to fighting this insidious cancer that continues to threaten our youth and the soul of our nation. It is a fight we cannot afford to lose."

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org