|
|
Table of Contents: A Horrifying Machete Attack on Jews in Monsey: Eliyahu Fink, Tablet,Dec. 29, 2019
A Horrifying Machete Attack on Jews in Monsey On Saturday night, a man named Grafton Thomas, armed with a machete, allegedly attacked a group of Hasidic men in the home of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg on Forshay Road in Monsey, N.Y., wounding at least five people who were celebrating the end of the Sabbath. To see these facts in the context of the peaceful neighborhood where they took place makes the event seem all the more disturbing and baffling. Monsey is a densely populated rural town of winding single-lane roads snaking through hills of streams, rocks, and trees. The center of the town is entirely Orthodox Jewish families and the outskirts of Monsey are mostly Orthodox. Nearly every street in Monsey has at least one synagogue, most of which are shtibels located in basements of homes or in buildings that look like homes. Rotenberg is a Hasidic rebbe who lives on Forshay Road adjacent to his synagogue. His following is mostly non-Hasidic Jews who enjoy the unique warmth and joy of Hasidic life. While Hasidic Jews are the dominant group in the center of Monsey, the population of the Forshay Road neighborhood is almost completely made up of non-Hasidic Orthodox Jewish families. Immediately after calling 911, the celebrants called the Chaverim of Rockland—a local emergency services organization. Coordinator Yossi Margareten sprang into action and the Chaverim arrived on the scene shortly after the attacker fled. Margareten described the scene as “chaotic” with men, women, and children frantically searching for one another in the dark: “The first thing we did was work together to keep everybody calm. We also helped the Ramapo Police Department gather information from the witnesses and victims.” Hanukkah in Monsey is a particularly magical time. Instead of Christmas lights, the light of Hanukkah candles are visible in the window of almost every home. There is a palpable feeling of festivity in the air as family and friends gather for Hanukkah parties and celebrations for 8 nights. Motzei Shabbos Hanukkah—the end of the Sabbath, conjoined with the Hanukkah holiday—is an even more special night. … [To read the full article, click the following LINK – Ed.] Inconvenient Antisemitism: The Daily Attacks on Jews in New York The attack on a Rabbi in Monsey north of New York City on Saturday evening has left the Jewish community shaken. It follows at least eight other attacks in New York since the shooting attack on a kosher supermarket in early December. There have been near daily attacks in New York City this year, a kind of slow-moving pogrom against Jews, particularly targeting ultra-Orthodox Jews. The murder of three people at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City was mostly ignored in the United States. No rallies or marches against the antisemitism that led to it. No major political upheavals or even much recognition. The usual anger over gun violence after mass shootings was nowhere to be found. The victims and the perpetrators are inconvenient. America as a whole can’t mourn Orthodox Jews and it can’t confront perpetrators when the perpetrators come from a minority community. This is inconvenient antisemitism and it is a kind of antisemitism privilege. Despite widespread anti-racism programs in the US, there are still those in America for whom being antisemitic is a birthright and not something to be ashamed of. The number of people raised with violent antisemitic beliefs is growing. The Jersey City murders are the culmination of years of incitement against Jews. But the perpetrators in that case were themselves minorities from the African American community. The perpetrators have been identified as coming from an extremist religious group called Black Hebrew Israelites, making them a minority of a minority. The perpetrators are seen as a “militant” fringe within that minority. The authorities are now looking at the case as domestic terrorism fueled by antisemitism. However major media have endeavored to dismiss the murders as unimportant and unique. The New York Times described the Black Hebrew Israelites as being “known for their inflammatory sidewalk ministers who employ provocation as a form of gospel.” It’s a bit more than that. In fact, the group and the milieu around it tend to view religion through a racial lens, such that Jews are described as “white” and “fake” and the “real Jews” are portrayed as black, along with all the prophets and religious figures. The ADL pointed out that this group views itself as the real “chosen people” and that it sees people of color as the real descendants of the 12 tribes. The group was in the media earlier in the year in Washington DC when they shouted insults at Catholic high school students. Mainstream society wants to view this as “provocation,” because if they viewed it as a burgeoning racist violent movement targeting Jews then they would have to confront it and ask tough questions of why it is tolerated in a community. Expert J.J. McNab told the Associated Press that in fact this group takes pride in “confronting Jewish people everywhere and explaining that they are evil.” … [To read the full article, click the following LINK – Ed.] Sitting Ducks Jewish blood is cheap. Another horrific anti-Semitic hate crime against New York’s Jewish community has left at least five people injured, this time in Monsey, New York, where a masked invader armed with a machete attacked the home of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg, a religious leader of the local Jewish community whose house served as a center of communal prayer. How to stop local pogromists from smashing, beating, stabbing, and shooting Jews—like yesterday’s attack in Monsey, or last week’s murderous assault in Jersey City, New Jersey—is not a question most American Jews imagined we’d ever have to seriously entertain. But it is now a matter of life or death. One thing that is clear is that the familiar avenues that our community has relied upon, namely the city’s Democratic political establishment, law enforcement, and the courts, are no longer working to protect us. Instead, they are encouraging more attacks, and escalating the violence against our community. To understand how, consider the case of Tiffany Harris. Last Friday, she walked up to three Orthodox Jewish women on a Brooklyn street and began punching them as she shouted anti-Semitic slurs. When the cops picked her up, Harris didn’t bother denying the accusations. “Yes, I slapped them,” she said. “I cursed them out. I said, ‘F-U, Jews.’” Harris was brought before a judge, and not for the first time. According to the New York Post, she has an open harassment and assault case against her from last November, and just last month failed to make an appearance in court for another felony criminal mischief charge. But the prosecutors in her case this time around didn’t even bother asking for bail: On Jan. 1, a new law will take effect that will prohibit judges from setting bail for defendants accused of certain, mostly nonviolent, crimes. “The de Blasio administration has made it clear that we all need to get into compliance with bail reform now,” a law enforcement source told the Post. “If prosecutors had asked for bail, corrections would release them immediately.” The law’s defenders are hailing de Blasio’s new sentencing guidelines as a shining example of criminal-justice reform. In reality, it’s a noxious example of a misguided policy that allows progressive politicians to signal their virtue while leaving minorities—Jews first and foremost—exposed to assaults without consequence, which encourage more assaults against defenseless targets. In the past two weeks, New York, which boasts the largest Jewish population of any city in the world, has witnessed 10 violent attacks against Jews, yet the perpetrators, like Harris, were all let go, grinning and unrepentant … [To read the full article, click the following LINK – Ed.] Jews Are Going Underground In a month of terrible anti-Semitic attacks, including a stabbing yesterday of multiple people at a Hanukkah celebration at a rabbi’s home in Monsey, New York, the news that most depressed me did not involve violence. It was not something done to Jews but something Jews did. A synagogue in the Netherlands is no longer publicly posting the times of prayer services. If you want to join a service, you have to know someone who is a member of the community. Do not misunderstand me. I was and am in a fury over the multiple assaults, culminating in the Monsey attack, which was the worst since the murders in Jersey City, which, some readers might not realize, was less than three weeks ago. In Europe and the United States, Jews have been repeatedly assaulted on the street. Tombstones were desecrated in Slovakia. In London, anti-Semitic graffiti was painted on synagogues and Jewish-owned stores. A Belgian daily newspaper accused a lawmaker who is Jewish of being a spy for Israel. A Polish town refused to install small brass plates that commemorate Holocaust victims. In Italy, the town of Schio did the same because, the mayor said, they would be “divisive.” (Divisive to whom?) This intolerance is coming from right-wing extremists, progressive leftists, and other minorities who, themselves, are often the object of persecution. Anti-Semites seem to think it is open season on Jews. And maybe, given the many incidents, they are right. So why has the news that a synagogue in the Netherlands stopped posting the time of services upset me above all? Because it is vivid proof that anti-Semitism is driving Jews underground in the West. For some time now, many kippah-wearing Jews have adopted the habit of wearing baseball caps when visiting Europe. Young people think twice before wearing Israeli-flag T-shirts when they wander the streets of Paris. Or before carrying a backpack with the name of their Jewish youth group prominently displayed. A number of years ago, I met a Jewish woman from Brussels who told me that she had asked her teenage children not to wear their Jewish-star necklaces in public. She acknowledged that she was embarrassed to have asked them and relieved when they agreed. During a trip to Berlin, a friend gave me directions to an out-of-the-way synagogue. After some intricate explanations, he added that if I got lost, I should look for police on the street with submachine guns. “That,” he noted, “would be the entrance to the synagogue.” But I should also keep watch for men in baseball caps and follow them. “They will lead you to the synagogue.” I did get lost, and followed some men in baseball caps as instructed. I was relieved when I saw the police. I had found it. For many years, Jews have known that when visiting a European synagogue, they must bring their passport with them and expect to be interrogated by guards outside the door. I now call ahead to let a synagogue know that I am coming. And that does not always guarantee entry. A few years ago, I was turned away from a synagogue in Rome. … [To read the full article, click the following LINK – Ed.] For Further Reference: Major Jewish Groups ‘Horrified,’ Call for Special FBI Task Force in Wake of Latest Violent Attack Against Jews: Algemeiner Staff, WIN, Dec. 29, 2019 — Major Jewish groups reacted with horror to news on Saturday night of a violent stabbing attack that left five injured, two critically, at a Hanukkah celebration at the home of a rabbi in Monsey, New York. Guardian Angels to Patrol Jewish Neighborhoods in New York City after Recent Attacks: Dennis Romero, NBC News, Dec. 28, 2019 — The Guardian Angels, a private, unarmed crime-prevention group, said it would start patrolling New York City’s Brooklyn borough on Sunday following a series of anti-Semitic attacks. There was an Attack on Jewish New Yorkers Almost Every Day Last Week. Police are Investigating these as Possible Hate Crimes: Christina Maxouris, CNN, Dec. 29, 2019 — Stabbings inside a rabbi’s home on the seventh day of Hanukkah marked the latest in a string of incidents that have targeted the Jewish community in New York. Why Trump’s Protection Leaves Jews Confused: Ruth R. Wisse, WSJ, Dec. 22, 2019 — Anti-Semitism is on the rise in the U.S., but the response from America’s Jews has been confused. Donald Trump is the first president to confront anti-Semitism by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and by extending civil-rights protection to Jewish college students in the U.S. The Current Delegitimization of Israel has been on the Cards for Decades: David M. Weinberg, Jerusalem Post, Dec. 27, 2019 — This weekend marks the 13th yahrzeit of my father, Prof. Henry (Zvi) Weinberg, of blessed memory. |
