Sometimes Rights are Not the Issue

Is opposition to a town turning into Williamsburg antisemitic? (Pew)

Is opposition by non Jews to Orthodox migration into their neighborhoods antisemitic? Some of it is clearly antisemitic. Some of it is not antisemitic at all. And some of it is a bit of both.

There has been an ongoing problem in towns where the Orthodox population has exploded to the point where housing has become a serious issue. In most cases that population is Charedi. Those neighborhoods have been transformed from what was once small town hamlets into something unrecognizable from what they once were. 

Those towns once had single family homes situated on large tracts of land; specialty shops dotted the strip malls; Cineplexes showing newly released movies that were well attended by local residents; traffic was relatively light; and street parking was never an issue.  Families were typically small with 2 or 3 children per family. They were idyllic American cities whose residents shared similar values and cultural experiences.

This is very likely how Lakewood and Money once looked. Today they look more like a suburban version of Boro Park or Williamsburg. And the ‘suburban’ part is giving way to more concrete than ever becoming even more like Boro Park.

There are Yeshivos, day schools, and Shuls all over, including shteebles in some private residences (usually a basement). There are stores that cater primarily to Orthodox Jews. Even those that are not grocery stores. Strip malls are starting to look like 13^th Avenue in Boro Park. Kosher restaurants now overwhelm non Kosher ones (if there are even any left). Movie theaters, if they exist at all are in all likelihood not well attended. And there is an Orthodox takeover of a school board which seems to favor their own schools over public schools (This is the perception even if it isn’t the reality.) 

And perhaps worst of all is the explosion of people (where families with 10 or more children are not all that uncommon). Not to mention a constant influx of ‘refugees’ from the concrete jungle that is Brooklyn.

This has resulted in a building frenzy that has destroyed the look of the small town in favor of the much cheaper, larger and uglier condominium complexes – just to meet the explosive population demands.  That has created huge traffic jams and the virtual impossibility of finding a place to park in the street.  The people you see in the streets tend to all look the same and share the same cultural experience, little of which has anything to do with what that town used to be like.

The fact is that even many Orthodox residents (including those that are Charedi) are upset by that kind of expansion. If I recall correctly there are a sizable amount of Charedim in both Lakewood and Monsey that have complained about the city’s building frenzy without first building the infrastructure required to support the increased population and resulting traffic and parking problems. And yet the building frenzy continues. In many ways Monsey nnd Lakewood now look like Boro Park.

To say they are overcrowded is an understatement. The transformation from what those towns once were to what they are now is dramatic to say the least. Monsey and Lakewood are unrecognizable from what they once were.

Ironically Orthodox Jews first migrated to these communities to escape the ‘concrete jungle’ that was Brooklyn – seeking the ‘wide open spaces’ of a suburb like Monsey or Lakewood.

As I understand it, cities like this grew and became more ‘Orthodox friendly’ the attraction became even greater. The best of both worlds was to be found there. That appears to no longer be the case.

This has resulted in some of the current residents and new Orthodox ’refugees’ from the city to look at homes bordering on those towns.  That is where they will find the ‘suburban’ feel they are looking for while still being close enough to the highly Orthodox infrastructure of a ‘Monsey’ or ‘Lakewood’.

That is where the problem lies. Most of people that live in those bordering towns are not Jewish and certainly not Orthodox. The Jews that may live there are culturally identical their non Jewish neighbors. These people are not blind. They see what is going on in their adjacent town and do not want their idyllic little towns to turn into that.

Does that mean they are antisemitic? Absolutely not. At least not all – or probably even most of them. I can’t blame them for wanting to maintain the culture and ambience that has been the case ever since those towns were created. They like their stores open on Shabbos; they like going to restaurants that serve shrimp, lobster, and or just plain cheeseburgers. They like neighbors that dress like them, think like them, and live like them.  That is what they have been used to for decades.

They are therefore resisting attempts by Orthodox Jews to buy homes there. That has resulted in cries of antisemitism by those seeking those homes and outside Orthodox observers.  In some cases those accusations are accurate. Some truly ugly antisemitic comments have appeared in online social media using some well worn negative stereotypes about us of years gone by.

Which brings me to an article about that in the Asbury Park Press. One Charedi woman has decided to answer those attacks: 

Hindy Bertram was scrolling through Facebook when a video on the page Rise Up Ocean County began to play. Smiling boys in yarmulkes and a crowd of Orthodox Jewish men in black coats and black hats appeared on her cellphone screen.

An unidentified narrator declared the page's concerns were civic issues, particularly how to respond to Lakewood's rapid growth, which is driven by Orthodox Jewish residents who are also settling into neighboring towns.

But in the accompanying comments section Bertram saw vitriol and misinformation about her community. About her faith. About her family. About her. 

Mrs. Bertram has done a pretty good job of defending her Orthodoxy and explaining why painting the entire community with those negative stereotypes is inaccurate and unfair. She seems to have made a dent in some of that negative rhetoric. But she has a long way to go.

What about those fears? Does that justify their opposition? Of course not. Anyone that can afford to buy a house in any neighborhood has the right to do that. But sometimes asserting ‘rights’ is not necessarily right. I know that sounds contradictory. But it really isn’t.

True - it is unfair to deny anyone to live where ever they choose. But I can’t blame a community for fearing that their little hamlet will turn into yet another overcrowded town filled with strange looking people they have absolutely nothing to do with. Whose lifestyles are so different, that it will change the entire character of the town. Just as it did in places like Monsey and Lakewood. I can’t really blame them for feeling that way.

I therefore do not see all the opposition as antisemitism. Even though it did unleash a fair amount latent antisemitism (or perhaps more correctly ‘anti Orthodox-ism’) in some of them.

As noted Jews (or anyone else) should be able to live wherever they want. If that entails expanding a neighborhood into neighboring towns, so be it. But those doing so should be aware of the impact that has on the current residents of that town and not automatically assume antisemitism.  

At the end of the day this is a situation about what is right. Not only about rights.

That said, I don’t know how one deals with an overpopulated neighborhood that continues to grow by leaps and bounds. Where are you going to put all those people? On the other hand, why is there no sensitivity to the original residents who fear losing what they have and cherish because of that? It would help if each side took a close look at the other side and try to understand each other’s issues. And then to try to find a compromise that would satisfy everyone. Difficult though that may be.