By now it may or may not have been widely covered – well, certainly covered in “fringe rags” like the New York Post and the Daily Mail, and barely covered in Leftist shill outlets like The New York Times and the Washington Post – that anti-Semitic hate crimes, and specifically violent attacks against Jews, are on a major upswing over the last couple of years.
Even within that upswing, there’s been a pronounced spike over the last few months, and even within that spike there’s been a huge jump within the last two weeks or so. New York City, where anti-Semitic attacks have been particularly rampant, saw at least one attack per night on every night of Chanukah this year.
In light of everything that’s been going on, I didn’t know which approach to take in this week’s article. In a situation like the current one, where everything is so backwards, where justice has been so perverted, where the laws are designed to protect criminals and laws are designed and passed with the sole purpose of winning votes, it is hard to know what to say. The reality is that, as long as we continue to entrust Democrats with our leadership, whether on the national, state, or local levels, nothing will ever change.
In the first place, there’s no end in sight to these attacks. There has been at least one new attack every day for more than a week. What’s the good in covering one attack when there will probably be another attack, maybe worse, tomorrow?
Particularly barbaric was the mass-stabbing in Monsey on Saturday night, which saw anti-Semitic terrorist Grafton Thomas savage five people at a Chanukah party with a nearly two-foot-long blade; two of his victims remain in critical condition. He might have succeeded in murdering dozens at the synagogue next door, but he was thwarted by a navigational mix-up.
We could cover this attack or one of the others, I thought, but why bother when it’ll just happen again? Our Democrat leadership is basically doing everything in its power to encourage these attacks.
For starters, consider the motivation behind the attacks. Race-hate against Jews is flourishing in urban black communities, and thanks to the Democrats’ coordinated and malicious rhetoric on the “intersectional hierarchy.” Since Obama, and down through our current leadership, Dems have sown the seeds of racial conflict by painting black and brown communities as the victims of oppression by successful and “privileged” whites – most notably, Jewish Americans. If you buy this race-baiting vitriol that the Left is selling, you’d be more than justified in seeking retribution, possibly even violent retribution, against your oppressors. And our leaders are more than happy to let the Jews take the heat.
Then, I thought, I can write about the necessity for Jews to start arming themselves, so that they can defend their lives in the face of the next attack – which, as we’re now learning, is inevitable, and will most certainly happen sooner than we expect.
As it turns out, I’ve already done that op-ed. Just over a year ago, after the Tree of Life shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, in which 11 Jews were murdered, I wrote in favor of concealed carrying of guns, and I urged Jews to take up weapons in their own defense.
But even my original call to arms was a waste of time and newsprint: Concealed carry is as good as illegal in New York, as officials have made it almost impossible for any civilian to obtain a license. The city’s lawmakers – every Democrat ranging from Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo at the top, down to your local representatives, seem more intent on protecting the rights of the criminals who use guns illegally than protecting the lives or livelihoods of their victims. This shocking reversal in priorities is the direct consequence of electing Democratic leaders.
I thought, perhaps, that I could call for a return to good, old-fashioned “broken-windows policing,” the philosophy that cracking down on petty crimes – like loitering, mischief, and theft – brings an overall reduction in more serious crimes like assault and gun violence. But the policing and prosecution of criminals will only get laxer in our city, thanks to the criminal justice reforms bill by the Dems in the State Assembly. Officially starting this week, on January 1, New York will now see reduced prison terms and the elimination of cash bail for offenders charged with a variety of serious crimes, from burglary, to arson, to harassment. Our state and city government’s stance on crime is already a joke, and now it’s set to get far worse this year.
Is it any secret that this shift will encourage those marginalized, anti-Semitically-groomed youngsters who might have been scared straight to start committing casual acts of petty crime, vandalism, or harassment against Jews they encounter on the street? And after spray-painting a swastika on the side of a shul or throwing a folding chair at (and punching) a frum man on the street, as seven teens did in one of this week’s attacks, it’s only a stone’s throw away to beat up a Jewish teenager or even pick up a gun and take things further.
The new criminal justice measures – which are being implemented early – have had a direct hand in at least one anti-Semitic attack this week alone. We reported last week about Tiffany Harris, a 30-year-old black woman from Brooklyn who assaulted and screamed racial epithets at a Jewish Israeli woman on the subway. Harris was charged and released without bail, in accordance with the new reforms. The very next day, less than 24 hours after walking free, she launched another violent attack against a Jewish woman, this time slapping three Orthodox Jewish women in the face in Crown Heights. After her second arraignment, she was again allowed to walk free, this time screaming “Eff you, Jews!” as she left the precinct. This person, clearly motivated by extreme anti-Semitic hatred, who has shown a strong motivation to violently attack Jewish people, has been allowed to roam free. Should we take bets on how long it will be until her third attack? Or perhaps we should guess which type of weapon she’ll use next time, or whether she’ll assault a child, or whether she’ll use deadly force.
It has become impossible to ignore how dangerous these policies are, both for Jewish people specifically and for the city as a whole. But the Democrats whom you elected are happy to sacrifice your safety and your lives for votes.
So now I’m going to appeal to your common sense – to your gut sense of right and wrong, to your root intuition. I don’t know if this will get through, but I’ll try.
“What the [heck] do you have to lose?” (as candidate Trump famously said).
Trump used this appeal to sway a few black voters in 2016 away from the party that has kept them supplicant on the party for generations, and now I’ll use it on you, the Orthodox Jewish readers of this paper, who vote Democrat despite every shred of common sense available to them
If you value your life and the lives of your family members, stop voting for Democrats.
The Democrat Party has held you in its thrall since your forefathers immigrated here. You were loyal soldiers back in the day, and with just cause. You needed the political machines of the 1910s to deliver food handouts and to get your kids into school when you were new immigrants on the Lower East Side, struggling to keep your families alive.
Today, you persist in voting for a party that has sold you out decades ago.
What they heck are they doing for you, that you’re so in thrall to them?
And I don’t buy this hollow argument that, since you know that only Democrats can win in New York State, so you pick the lesser of two evils – the more moderate of two Democratic candidates – and throw your support behind him in the hopes that he’ll throw you a bone here or there with his policy. Do you know what you’re throwing away with this lazy compromise? Do you realize what you could accomplish if Jews, as a block, left the Democratic Party in New York? Things might be rocky for the first election cycle or two, but eventually it would make an impact. And at worst, it would send a message to the Democrats in power that they can’t get away with pushing us to the margins anymore.
Saying nothing of social issues or Israel, on both of which platforms the Democratic Party is extremely hostile to Jews, it’s absolutely reckless and nonsensical to continue supporting this party. Wake up.
Change will only start on the local level.
You need to elect Republican, conservative representatives at the State and City level who will allow you to carry a firearm, who will refrain from stirring up race-hate and painting Jews as perpetrators of intersectional “crimes” against black and brown minorities. Elect someone who will enact laws that empower every individual from those blighted communities to get a good education, to succeed financially, and to enjoy a stable home life. Elect representatives who will lock up people who put our cities at risk and who have a zero-tolerance policy for violent hate crimes.
Until then, anti-Semitic violence in New York City will continue to skyrocket, and more Jews will lose their dignity and, yes, their lives.
How many more Jewish lives will it take for you to stop empowering your own oppressors?
Wise up! Stop supporting Democrat candidates on any level of government. Jewish lives are at stake.
Emily Cohen is a staff writer for the Queens Jewish Link, reporting on community affairs, Israel, and editorial perspectives. She also works as a freelance content writer and editor. Emily is an alumna of Brown University and lives in Manhattan with her teeny-weeny four-pound poodle. Emily can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
