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Waiter Interrupts Jewish Wedding With Islamic Chant
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 10, 2009
Modified Jan 10, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 10, 2009
Modified Jan 10, 2009
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Newsday reports that Nassau County police arrested Stephen Buttafuoco, 23, who "interrupted the celebration's final prayers with recorded Arabic chants of 'God is great'" last week. That chant "spark[ed] fear among the 700 guests of a terrorist attack." Buttafuoco, a waiter for the wedding's catering company at the Woodbury Jewish Center (natch, he was fired), recorded the chants—"Allahu Akbar"— from the January 3 pro-Palestine rally in NYC and then played them over the PA system. He was charged with aggravated harassment; a grand jury will decide whether to charge him with disruption of a religious service. His lawyer, who suggested his client might be rebelling against his pro-Israel church preacher father, told Newsday the charges were harsh but added, "On the other hand, I can understand the concern of the members of Jewish community who were at this wedding." We'll wait for the newlyweds and/or Woodbury Jewish Center suing the catering company.
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Gaza Strip
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Stephen Buttafuoco
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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