Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
(JEWISH GROUP) Tensions flare in Crown Heights as extremist group targets 'Zionist white supremacists' over 1991 inciden
Tensions flare in Crown Heights as extremist group targets ‘Zionist white supremacists’ over 1991 incidentAround 20 masked activists stood on a street corner Tuesday night in Crown Heights, distributing fliers accusing “zionist white supremacists” of murdering a child whose accidental death sparked antisemitic violence in the neighborhood in 1991.
Their audience featured both counter-protesters drawn from the Chabad Lubavitch movement they targeted and security officials charged with keeping the peace.
Local officials had denounced the rally planned by a group called Crown Heights Bites Back as antisemitic. The group announced itself earlier this year and has promoted mutual aid efforts and pro-Palestinian protests as well as advocacy against local Jews, including those affiliated with the Chabad Lubavitch movement that is based in the neighborhood.
The Crown Heights riots began on Aug. 19, 1991, when a vehicle following the motorcade of the Lubavitcher rabbi ran a red light and accidentally killed 7-year-old Gavin Cato. Hours after the accident, a group attacked 29-year-old Yankel Rosenbaum, killing him, and anti-Jewish riots engulfed the neighborhood for three days.
----
Crown Heights Bites Back, which also praised the shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in May and has distributed flyers accusing Hasidic Jews of landlord abuse, framed its vigil as a call for justice, but some Jewish spectators saw it as an attempt to provoke conflict.
more...