A New York town recently renamed its “Anti-Bias Task Force” to the “Unity Council,” despite opposition that prompted one member of the town board to resign.
The town board of Smithtown on Long Island voted 5-0 on July 11 to approve the name change of the 12-member volunteer group, which was established in 1994 following an antisemitic incident at a local high school, according to local Newsday.
During a meeting last week, the group’s chairwoman, Maria LaMalfa, read letters of protest from volunteer members Sanaa Nadim and Ben Piskorz, both of whom did not support the name change.
“If you approve the resolution to eliminate the words ‘anti-bias’ from the name, please accept this as my resignation,” 86-year-old group confounder Piskorz wrote to the town board. “‘Unity Anti-Bias Council’ or some other variation would be acceptable.”
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Smithtown, New York, whose town hall is pictured above, recently renamed its “Anti-Bias Task Force” to the “Unity Council,” despite opposition that prompted one member of the town board to resign. (Google Maps)
The local outlet noted that Piskorz, an immigrant from Argentina, explained during a recent interview that while he has no problem with “unity” being included in the group’s name, he believes that the term “anti-bias” is important to maintain.
“Unity is okay, but that’s not what the anti-bias task force does,” Piskorz said. “If they want to change it, and not listen to me, then I say ‘Do whatever you want.'”
Piskorz reportedly said the name change left him “very upset,” though he remains open to the idea of coming back to serve on the council.
Nadim, who serves on the council and co-chairs the Stony Brook University’s Interfaith Center, also reportedly expressed support for keeping “bias” in the group name because it supposedly helps the council eradicate structural inequality.
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The main branch of the Smithtown Library, located on North Country Road in Smithtown, New York, is shown on June 22, 2022. (John Paraskevas/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
“Our communities feel safer and more heard when they know that we’re striving to root out structural, systemic and experiential inequality,” wrote Nadim. “The word ‘bias’ expresses our firm commitment to serving our richly diverse constituents through our inequality framework.”
Ed Wehrheim, supervisor of Smithtown, said the town board decided to rename the group after similar changes made by the nearby town of Islip, also on Long Island. Islip decided to redub the name of its anti-bias task force last year, according to Newsday.
“It had actually attracted a more diverse group of people that wanted to volunteer to help with preventing any kind of bias incidents and forward any complaints to the proper authorities, things of that nature, so it’s really going to stay the same,” Wehrheim said. “We took a look at this model in Islip, and we think it’s going to be a better fit for Smithtown.”
The western campus of Smithtown High School in Smithtown, New York, on Jan. 25, 2018. (Raychel Brightman/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the town council of Smithtown for comment.
