On April fourth, I wrote a very strong condemnation of the riots by young Chasidim which took place in Boro Park. In the comments section I said the following about a press report which seemed to indicate that Assemblyman Dov Hikind blamed the riot on the police:
“Contrast this and the wonderful way the victim, Arthur Schick reacted with the reactionism so typical of Assemblyman Dov Hikind who focused all of his venom against the police. What bothers me almost as much as the rioting Chasidim are the apologists for them.”
Well, I was wrong. Assemblyman Hikind does no such thing. An op-ed in the Jewish Press written by Mr. Hikind told quite a different story. He makes it perfectly clear that the exact opposite is true. He and I view this situation in exactly the same terms.
I want to first apologize to Assemblyman Hikind for my criticism of him as it was totally incorrect and based on incomplete and misleading information. His indignation of the events of April fourth is righteous and just. Even though I am sometimes on exactly the opposite end of the spectrum from him on some issues, on this one, his measure of the event and how it affects Klal Yisroel is exactly on target. To quote from the article:
“... people invoking the Holocaust. How dare they? What were they thinking? And to repeatedly yell the anthem of Al Sharpton, "No Justice, No Peace," was beyond what I would have believed our community capable of. To see our young people comport themselves in this disgraceful way was terribly painful, and innocent individuals are dealing with the repercussions.”
“Bystanders were harmed and had to be hospitalized because a situation that should have been contained only escalated. We all have to do some very serious soul-searching, because this was not an isolated group of troublemakers; there were hundreds in the streets – a mob in every sense of the word. Rabbis and religious leaders must deal with this as seriously as they do any other critical issue that arises in our community.”
To this I say, Amen.
