This week I attended an event for recent refugees to America, which included a high-
powered panel of officials in law enforcement, human rights and religious leaders of
many faiths.
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The topic was combatting hate, racism and antisemitism. I learned a few
important things that are worth sharing:
- There is a difference in law enforcement between “hate incidents” and “hate
crimes”. Hate incidents may be painful and disgusting but they often do not rise
to the level of a crime under the law. Many incidents, including many types of
“hate speech” are protected by Free Speech in America (but not in some EU
countries) and are not considered criminal. Additionally, many incidents are not
prosecuted because either the victim does not step forward, or the victim is a
school-age child whose identity is shielded. - Between 2005-2019, only 17% of hate crime suspects investigated were actually
prosecuted, according to the US Justice Dept. Most were freed due to
“insufficient evidence”, or as above. - But of those prosecuted from 2015-2019, as hate incidents have dramatically
increased, 94% were convicted, which shows the courts and the government are
paying more attention to these crimes.
A local Human Rights Commissioner on the panel said that the best way to combat hate
was to arouse public attention and public action to the incident.
She recommended having marches in areas where hate-filled flyers or signs were disseminated, doing forums for school administrators and teachers in schools where incidents were reported, and taking out ads in local media denouncing hate incidents. She said that studies of such actions have clearly resulted in diminishing hate incidents. She also said that if not responded to by the public, hate incidents grow into serious hate crimes quickly.
Pressure on local law enforcement and prosecutors to investigate incidents also helps.
Another response by victims of antisemitism and hate is to sue the mamzers. This type
of response has been amazingly successful in not only curtailing hate incidents and
crimes by individuals, but also has resulted in the shutting down of entire hate
organizations. The best example of this is the action of KlanWatch, now called the
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
Founded in 1971 by Jewish lawyers in Alabama, the SPLC has been credited with
devising innovative ways to cripple hate groups , such as the Ku Klux Klan , particularly
by using “damage litigation”.
Their groundbreaking move in 1984 was to bring a civil suit against the United Klans of America for the lynching of a young Black man. His mother sued with their help and was awarded $7 million in damages. She became the owner of their Klan headquarters in Tuscaloosa, essentially bankrupting and shuttering that tentacle of the KKK.
Today, SPLC is the number one non-profit organization that monitors hate organizations, militias, racist and anti-Semitic groups in America. They continue to do class action suits against hate groups, as well as file Amicus briefs as friends of the Court in many criminal and civil cases.
As Jews today, we are faced with a many-sided hydra of antisemitism coming down on
us, individually and collectively, economically and socially, nationally and politically.
The hate comes from the organized right, including remnants of the KKK, militias, White
nationalists, neo-Nazis, Christian Identity and new cancers such as the Proud Goys,
Bugaloos, Qanon conspiracy quacks and Proud Boys. The SPLC has listed hundreds of
such hate groups, actively antisemitic. These groups have without question perpetrated
the most actual crimes against Jews in America.
On the left reside the mostly anti-Israel, anti-Zionist front groups, which are often most
virulent on college campuses, delivered by some Islamic groups and leftist neo-
socialists like AOC and the Squad. Although not generally known for much actual
criminal activity, these groups specialize in intimidating Jewish students in colleges,
boycotting Jewish businesses, blood libeling Jews and Israel, and their infamous (but
failing) B.D.S. movement.
Nor can we leave out virulently ant-Zionist Charedi groups here and in Israel that
publicly demonstrate with PLO, Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists, make speeches in
Teheran denouncing Israel and generally try to sow division and misery to those who
love and support HaEretz.
Finally, there are the random attacks against Charedi Jews in urban areas by local teenagers and thugs, sometimes called “Streimel attacks” because they often involve
physical attacks on Jewish men wearing traditional head coverings.
These attacks are rarely prosecuted, although some incidents have been met by self-defense, video of the incident, or capture by Shomrim or the police. A recent dramatic increase of such criminal behavior, especially in New York City, have raised an outcry and demands for more policing of Jewish neighborhoods and investigation of these incidents.
But the outcry seems to have finally gotten the attention of the Mayor. So what are we to do? What can we do? We say that the best time to stop genocide is before it happens. Some research into civil suit actions against anti-Semitic individuals and groups revealed that there are a number of reputable organizations that will assist Jewish victims of hate incidents, namely:
- SPLC (as above). Check out their HateWatch information to find hate groups
active in your area.ADL. Mostly an advocacy and educational organization, they frequently file - Amicus briefs and can advise victims of antisemitism as to how to proceed.
Stand With Us, a Jewish non-profit that “provides legal resources to students,
faculty and community…” - The Lawfare Project “provides pro bono legal services to protect the civil and
human rights of the Jewish people worldwide”. - AAJLJ – The American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists. Related to
the International Association, they provide support to lawyers and judges but also
have an “activist” wing that will undertake lawsuits on behalf of victims of
antisemitism. - Louis Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law. The Center’s mission is to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and justice for all. They file Amicus briefs and powerful complaints against antisemitic actors.
- Jewish On Campus. Founded in 2020, this non-profit fights antisemitism on college campuses, and has actively filed complaints against colleges that support or facilitate antisemitism.
And since 2010, the US Government, under the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations have been investigating and filing charges against colleges for alleged antisemitic acts, violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in any program or activity that receives Federal funds or other Federal financial assistance.
Recently, allegations of antisemitism and virulent anti-Israel actions have been cited at
a number of colleges including SUNY New Paltz, Duke University, the University of Vermont, CUNY-Brooklyn, Northwestern, and many schools in the University of California system, to name just a few. For a fuller, but incomplete list, see the Brandeis University Antisemitism on Campus Report.
We know what is against us. But if not now, when is the time to start fighting back? We
are not alone. We have powerful allies to assist us now in this fight. Let’s use them.
-Harv Hilowitz (aka Hashomer)
“remnants” plural noun: remnants
a SMALL remaining quantity of something.
E.G. “50 years ago the KKK was a far right powerful racist antisemitic organization that fought against blacks and jews while these days there are only remnants of them left”
Instead of talking extensively about how bad these mostly non existent far right white supremacist groups are and only making a small mention of the (far) left let’s discuss how bad the racist antisemitic organizations on the (far) left are for example: BLM and ANTIFA
Instead of naming a bunch of random far right racist antisemitic groups that almost no one has ever met and probably would never have even heard of them without the media telling them about it. Let’s talk about the racist (racism against white people is still racism) antisemitic groups on the left who most people have actually seen in action.
B.D.S. is against Israel and whether you are pro Israel or anti Israel it doesn’t affect you that much.
“Although not generally known for much actual criminal activity” this is 100% a lie. Ripping off mezuzas from other students dorm rooms, painting swastikas on their doors, trying to burn down shuls etc. Are 100% criminal activity which has happened on practically every college campus in this country.
I may not be old enough to remember the KKK when it was actually a thing several decades ago but I am old enough to remember the summer of 2020 when when the far left “mostly peaceful” BLM organization with the encouragement of all the politicians on the left were burning down and destroying the country and killed several dozen people and took over a neighborhood in Seattle #insurrection
You might have seen the KKK if you were in certain parts of the country but everyone everywhere in this country saw BLM actively destroying the country seeing is better then hearing and regardless of what the media tries convincing people most people still trust their eyes more then their ears
It’s not the KKK who caused the frum community’s around New York to create organizations like shmira and shomrim
I personally know people who have been punched in the face and beaten up by “mostly peaceful people” in the last few years but I’ve never met or even heard of anyone who was beaten up by the KKK.
The SPLC is itself a hate group they hate any groups that supports traditional marriage or is anti abortion. Like the ADL they have gone full left and now are just propagandists for the democratic party.
The problem is that most of these attack in NYC are by POCs.
There is only one thing a bully understands and that’s a bloody nose. If you hide and don’t fight back they are emboldened Born in south Bronx and learned to fight back at an early age and yes it works. They didn’t bother me. But like fly’s on honey went after ghosr that turned and ran
Jews are like RINOS. Always talking , putting out statements , blablablah.
We need local JDL -like chevra with clubs and deal with the perps. Organizations , surveys , polls etc. all nonsense.
recent increase in nyc chasid attack? any idea why, nick?
“Nor can we leave out virulently ant-Zionist Charedi groups here and in Israel that publicly demonstrate with PLO, Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists, make speeches in Teheran denouncing Israel and generally try to sow division and misery to those who
love and support HaEretz.”
This is extremely inaccurate.
Zionism is, of course, diametrically opposed to the Torah and has caused untold damage to Klal Yisrael in the past century since Herzl SR”Y kicked it into gear.
Therefore, the Torah obviously requires that Jews oppose Zionism, at the very least, in principle. There’s nothing to discuss there.
However, with the sole exception of NK (have you heard anything from them in like a decade?), no known Chareidi group anywhere will do any of the things in the above quote, like publicly demonstrating with those murderers, et al.
As well, even if referring to NK, their goal is not “to sow division and misery to those who
love and support HaEretz.”
Rather, their “outspoken” goal is to inform the nations that Zionists don’t represent Jews. They also, of course, want Jews to understand that Zionism is diametrically opposed to Judaism, as already noted.
Finally, “HaEretz” means The Land, as in Eretz Yisrael. They love and support that land at least as much as anyone else. They do not, however, extend that love and support to the Zionist invaders of that land. So, that last word should have been, instead, “Israel”, not “HaEretz”.