Bloomfield Antisemitic Incident Nicely Downplayed By Local Media

On Friday December 2, a fellow in a white van drove into the parking lot of Temple Beth El Synagogue, while kids were being let out of religious school, and apparently started shouting such pleasantries according to people who were present, as "Death to the Jews"; "Kanye was right"; and that perennial favorite "Death to Israel".

Temple security responded, and police were contacted. 

Bloomfield Township Police stopped and identified him and then let him go.

News reports have actually underplayed this activity as  "arguing about the support of Israel" which is a rather quaint if not absolutely BS way to describe the event.

However, "arguing about the support of Israel", even on private property not your own, doesn't get you criminally charged, and now he has been, and is now identified and charged with ethnic intimidation:  Hassan Yehia Chokr, 35 of Dearborn, Michigan.

Local 4: Man charged with ethnic intimidation after antisemitic incident at Bloomfield Hills synagogue

Oakland County Prosecutor, Karen McDonald, says the charges stem from the 35-year-old making antisemitic and racist threats to parents, young children, and security personnel at a preschool and synagogue. 

Yep, that's not "arguing about the support of Israel" at all, now is it?

Well, he is now getting the pleasure of spending the rest of the weekend in the Oakland County jail pending arraignment.

Apparently they finally decided to charge him after they found he posted a video of his actions online which apparently doesn't support the just "arguing about Israel" line at all.  Can't find the video yet and it appears he or someone else may have locked down his social media accounts some time after doing so.

Update:  Found his Instagram account with some interesting videos on it:  https://www.instagram.com/freedomfighterhassan/

NY's Ban On Carry In Houses Of Worship Is Asinine At Best

So, the left was all a-flutter that the FBI had declared they had learned of a "credible and widespread threat"  against Jewish houses of Worship in New Jersey, most conveniently close to the election.

Shortly after that announcement got broacast in the news near and far, the threat then apparently went away as it was apparently neither quite that credible nor that widespread.  It turns out to be to be a single source, a single autistic individual living at home posted a threat online and ckaimed he never ws actually plannign to do anything, and that he is now in the words of the FBI -  "no longer a threat to the community".

Most convenient, that. 

So, some Jews being warned of such a credible and widespread threat would like to carry firearms for the defense of themselves and their congregations in New York. After all, it seems only common-sense that in the face of credible threats of violence one should be allowed the practical tools to defend themselves.

Well, they can't.

Bearing Arms: NYS Jewish Gun Club’s scathing response to non-action of court

New York's law prohibiting lawful citizens from carrying firearms in houses of worship, currently being fought in the courts, though the courts are slow walking the cases, is asinine and leaves people disarmed and vulnerable to criminal attack from those who will not obey such laws. 

Democrats quite simply would prefer dead Jews who were unable to defend themselves to armed Jews.

That's unacceptable.

Shabbat, A Week After Pittsburgh

This Shabbat was a week after the attack in Pittsburgh.

Along with other synagogues around the USA, ours held a special service this Shabbat, appropriately hash tagged in this day of social media as #ShowUpForShabbat, both to show the community will not be intimidated and dissuaded from attending synagogue, but more importantly to together join in honoring and commemorating the eleven victims of the attack:

-Joyce Fienberg, 75;
-Richard Gottfried, 65;
-Rose Mallinger, 97;
-Jerry Rabinowitz, 66;
-Cecil Rosenthal, 59;
-David Rosenthal, 54, (brother of Cecil);
-Bernice Simon, 84;
-Sylvan Simon, 86, (husband of Bernice);
-Daniel Stein, 71;
-Melvin Wax, 88; and
-Irving Younger, 69.

Eleven memorial candles burned on the bima during the service.

We also said a prayer for healing of those injured in the attack and specifically named the brave officers wounded in responding to the attack:

Officers Daniel Mead, Michael Smidga, Anthony Burke and Timothy Matson all of whom were injured by gunfire as they attempted to stop the shooter at the synagogue.
Officer John Persin suffered a hearing injury, and Officer Tyler Pashel injured his knee during the incident.

May they all be swiftly healed.

There was a rather large turnout for a Shabbat morning service, and the sermon was very powerful in addressing that these kinds of attacks can happen as much as we did not believe they would, even here in the USA, as they have happened around the world. The sermon also was focusing on the need for good deeds and outspokenness to balance the evil of this attack and that these sort of attacks will not stop Jews being Jews and continuing to worship as we will.

A very meaningful singing by the congregation of God Bless America followed.

Quite a powerful service.