Rabbi gives Jews a bad name

Image by dougtone via Flickr
Englewood's schools, including Dwight Morrow High, above, can't afford to lose the $63,000 in annual property taxes paid by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach on his East Hill estate.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach of Englewood is a publicity monger and a hypocrite, yet The Record devotes a huge amount of space today to his shameless plan to seek tax-exempt status for his multimillion dollar East Hill mansion.


Boteach bought the estate in 2000, knowing the Libyan Mission to the United Nations was next door. He parlayed that into a million dollars worth of free publicity for himself in 2009, when he protested a planned visit by dictator Moammar Gadhafi.


The Record published five stories over the course of six days in August 2009, many of them featuring Boteach prominently. Later, the Better Living section wrote a glowing review of the rabbi's book on his relationship with Michael Jackson.


In recent years, Boteach withheld property taxes to protest the Libyan Mission's tax-exempt status in Englewood, but now he's proposing to take his own property off the tax rolls. This man gives Jews a bad name.


Editor worships rabbi


The story on Page 1 clearly shows Boteach has interim Editor Douglas Clancy in his pocket. From the size of the headline and the space devoted to his selfish plan, you'd think a major disaster had occurred in North Jersey.


Don't hold your breath for an editorial opposing Boteach's plan and urging the city Planning Board to reject the use of a caretaker's house as a synagogue. Let Boteach take Englewood to court.


Next, Publisher Stephen A. Borg will convert a room in his $3.65 million Tenafly McMansion into a newsroom, declare The Record and Herald News a non-profit and seek his own tax-exempt status.


More poor journalism


Another front-page story raises all the questions surrounding the month-old police shooting of Malik Williams, 19, of Garfield -- and answers none of them.


So, this is just a rewrite of previous stories by the lazy assignment desk under Editor Deirdre Sykes.


Why didn't the reporter talk to the owner of the garage where Williams hid and find out what he or she knows about the "tools" police said the escapee held in his hands as justification for killing him?


Today's story reports Williams was "found behind numerous objects" and "had allegedly armed himself with tools."


Taking on Garret


It's good to see Adam Gussen, the deputy mayor of Teaneck, is among Democrats who are weighing a run against arch-conservative Rep. Scott Garret, the Wantage  Republican who cowed Rep. Steve Rothman, D- Englewood (L-1).


Let's hope Garret will rue the day his district was reconfigured to include Hackensack and most of Teaneck, two of the most diverse communities in North Jersey.


Also on the front of Local, a story on the death of three seniors in a highway accident in Florida doesn't say who was driving nor quote police on what caused their small SUV to go off the road.