Apologies and explanations are now coming from the 23-year-old (now fired) catering hall waiter who played Arabic chants over the PA system during a Jewish wedding. Stephen Buttafuoco, who attends Queens College, told reporters, "The actions I took were not very well thought through, but they were definitely not meant to be malicious in any way, shape or form," and apologized for any "fear or harm" he caused. He added, "I feel horrible."
Buttafuoco was arrested and charged with aggravated harassment as a hate crime for playing chants of "Allahu akbar" (God is great) over the Woodbury Jewish Center's PA system as the wedding of David and Amanda Zar was winding down. According to Newsday, the Nassau County police say the chants were played from the DJ booth, but Buttafuoco claims he was just playing the recording—made when he attended the pro-Palestine rally in Times Square the day before—in a nearby room for a friend. He said he had no idea it could be hear by wedding guests, some of whom worried there was a terrorist attack. Buttafuoco also explained why he went to the rally, "Basically, I would just like to see peace in the Middle East."
While court papers say Buttafuoco "admitted he did this with the intent of disrespecting the [Jewish] religion," his lawyer, who earlier said his client was rebelling against his pro-Israel, preacher father, characterized him this way, "He did a foolish and impulsive act. He's not a radical. He didn't even know they were on the air. He feels absolutely horrendous." And his father Dan Buttafuoco is especially upset, "We have nothing against any other religious background, especially the Jewish people. We love them." Both father and son want to apologize to the wedding couple.
However, the newlyweds don't seem as ruffled. David Zar told the News that he didn't press charges against the young man and doesn't know who did. He added to the Post, "I'm still celebrating my wedding and I really don't want to think about this."
