A Manhattan Pentecostal church evicted a Hebrew Christian group last week that had been renting its sanctuary for services after the pastor said a scrawled message was slipped through his mail box reading "Get the Jews out or else."
The day after the Rev. Roger Casey received the note, he said two men came to the Rock Church at 153 E. 62nd St. and told him: "I hope you got our message."
Rev. Casey called police, who investigated the incident as a case of aggravated harassment but could not find the men. Rev. Casey said they appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent.
Although the Hebrew Christian group was evicted a week ago, the incident occurred last year. Bruce Cohen, who calls himself the rabbi of the 100-member
Congregation Beth-El of Manhattan Messianic Synagogue, said he is studying legal options and is unsure where his congregation will meet in the future. It met in his home last Saturday.
Rev. Casey said the Hebrew Christian group was evicted after it refused to pay a $100 rent increase that the church needed for extra security measures. But Rev. Cohen said he was unaware of the reason for the hike to the $25 weekly rent his congregation had been paying since signing the 1998 agreement with the church and would have paid for all the extra security ($5,000) had he been told.
Michael Miller, executive vice president of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, said he viewed the matter as "nothing more than a dispute between two Christian groups."
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