The stabbings during a Hanukkah celebration at the home of a Hasidic rabbi in New York has sparked fear and concern in L.A. and the U.S. about rising anti-Semitic violence.
First, a gunman targeted a kosher grocery store in Jersey City in early December. Then, just days later, a Beverly Hills synagogue was vandalized. That’s when Natalie and her husband started assessing the danger of practicing their religion: Should he go to synagogue? Are their kids’ schools safe? In the end, they decided to keep their four children away from any public celebration of their Orthodox Jewish faith.
, according to a statement on his website. Five people were injured in the machete attack, one seriously; the suspect fled to Manhattan and was later arrested.The bloody assault — which occurred at the home of a Hasidic rabbi, where many of the faithful were celebrating the seventh night of Hanukkah — reverberated throughout the country.
“This is a world phenomenon,” Hier said Sunday. “It has happened for the last decade in Europe. It crossed the Atlantic. It’s right here in America. And the crimes are being committed by fellow Americans, in the last few weeks, by African Americans. I have to tell you, this is really of deep concern. Unless we do something about it, it seems to me it’s going to get a lot worse.”
“Since 1977 when the Simon Wiesenthal Center opened, we’ve never seen one after another, such horrific attacks targeting Jews — at night and in broad daylight,” Hier said. “I do not recall any time I’ve been as concerned as I am now. We’re in uncharted territory. Unless we do something, the results will be horrific and unprecedented in American history.”
If the assailant is black, she said, “a lot of time black Jews feel we have to mediate between the communities, when we’re just as frightened and hurt and upset about the violence as anyone else. ... The minute I thought a black person did it, I’m horrified, but I also know that I’ll have to do something about it.”
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