Dienstag, 31. Dezember 2019

You just have to live with it: Brooklyns Orthodox Jewish community responds to recent anti-Semitic attacks – NBC News

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Grafton Thomas, 37, was arrested in Manhattan hours after the Monsey attack and was charged with federal hate crimes on Monday. Authorities said a search of Thomas’s house turned up journals with anti-Semitic writings.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who said that President Donald Trump is in part to blame for the 21 percent

uptick in anti-Semitic criminal activities in the city, reacted to the violence by sending out more law enforcement officer to patrol Brooklyn areas like Borough Park, Crown Heights, and Williamsburg, where many of New York’s Hasidic Jews live.

The mayor said he has a strategy to attend to the violence: ramped-up security, increased education in location high schools and middle schools, additional light towers and the production of community safety coalitions.

The relocations are welcomed by some, like Esther, of Borough Park, who declined to provide her last name for personal privacy reasons.

When

5 individuals were
stabbed over the weekend at a rabbi’s home throughout a Hanukkah celebration in Monsey, New York– a suburban Orthodox enclave– Eisenberg said he was sad but not surprised.

“There have been events ever considering that we’ve lived in New York,” he said. “It’s been happening for 30 years.”

The Monsey stabbing happened throughout a Hanukkah week that was marked by a minimum of 8 other reported anti-Semitic events in New York City, where Orthodox Jews were verbally and physically attacked.

The rise in violence, which is available in the wake of the deadly Jersey City kosher market attack earlier this month, has actually left Brooklyn’s Jews “horrified,” according to the Anti-Defamation League, which tracks anti-Semitic events.

At a kosher butcher shop in Borough Park, a Brooklyn neighborhood with a large population of Orthodox Jews, Eli Eisenberg said the wave of anti-Semitic attacks that have struck his close-knit community is nothing brand-new.

“We cope with it,” said Eisenberg, a Hasidic Jew who was born and raised in Brooklyn, “You just need to live with it.”

“I’ll be heading out this evening,” he stated.

David Katz, likewise of Borough Park, expressed indifference about having more law enforcement officer on the streets.

“Why go through the hassle?” he said. “Even if you include more police officers, they won’t have the ability to do anything.”

New York Police officers stand guard ahead of an event at Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza for the victims of a machete attack at a Hannukah celebration the day before in Monsey, N.Y., on Dec. 29, 2019.

Amr Alfiky/ Reuters Non-Jewish neighbors of the Orthodox neighborhood stay similarly torn over the finest way to react to the violence.

In South Williamsburg, Peter Blagian, who operates at a regional plant store, stated he supports the mayor’s plan. “They’re one of our best clients,” he stated of the Orthodox Jewish neighborhood. “Anything that will assist them is good with me.”

“I don’t offer a crap about the mayor and he doesn’t provide a crap about me,” he stated.

He went on to say that he believes the attacks are just the sad truth of being a noticeable Jew and advised residents to not let this stop them from living their lives. “No one ought to run for their lives or hide in a cave because of it,” he said.

Michael Cohen, a shopkeeper in Borough Park, said he feels the same way. He expressed a submission when inquired about his response to the violence. “What is there to say? Everything is OKAY,” Cohen said. The violence, while horrible, is a part of life, he said.

Cohen stated the mayor “needs to repent of himself” for attempting to place the blame of what has been an ongoing issue for years on President Trump. “He’ll blame the president for whatever.”

Jen Patton, who works in a café in the same neighborhood, was doubtful of the plan. She stated she’s worried that the increased NYPD existence might result in negative encounters in between cops and the black and Latino citizens who live in a number of the very same communities as Orthodox Jews.

“Can we make sure the authorities know de-escalation techniques rather of just shooting people?” stated Patton, including that outreach and community building are the very best methods to attend to anti-Semitic violence. “Even just getting to know each other helps.”

Joe Toronto of South Williamsburg said more education around hate crimes and Judaism in schools was an excellent concept, however stated that’s a “long-lasting” solution. He included that while “there is violence occurring,” he doesn’t think a more robust authorities presence in neighborhoods of color is the solution.

As the mayor required community security unions, Katz stated he is already on one, and has actually been for 5 years. He stated while he waits to see if adding more cops officers on the streets will stymie the attacks, he’ll be out patrolling the area himself.

“There have been events ever considering that we’ve lived in New York,” he stated. He went on to state that he believes the attacks are just the sad reality of being a noticeable Jew and advised citizens to not let this stop them from living their lives. “They’re one of our finest consumers,” he said of the Orthodox Jewish community. Joe Toronto of South Williamsburg stated more education around hate crimes and Judaism in schools was a great idea, however said that’s a “long-term” service. As the mayor called for neighborhood safety unions, Katz stated he is currently on one, and has actually been for five years.

The news and stories that matters, provided weekday mornings.”It’s frightening,”she said Monday, sitting at the counter of an internet cafe on a street lined with awnings in Hebrew. “We are Jewish individuals and it’s always been this method, however these previous number of events have altered things.”

Four local Jewish legislators called on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to deploy the National Guard to areas like Ester’s, explaining the violence as a “slow-rolling pogrom.” They likewise asked the governor to state a state of emergency over anti-Semitism in the state.

While there is a widespread sensation within the Orthodox community that anti-Semitism is increasing in Brooklyn, the neighborhood has n’t reached a consensus on how to deal with the recent uptick in violence.

While Eisenberg wants the city to support those who have been impacted by the violence, he dismissed the mayor’s strategy as lip service.



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