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Defund NYPD Effort Becomes Flash Point For Jewish Groups Despite wide support for justice reform, some rabbis fear a rise in ‘lawlessness.’
A New Direction for The Jewish Week Why we are going all-digital.
W
e would like to take this opportunity to share a significant development in the long history of The Jewish Week. It is no secret that the media and the Jewish pubEditorial lishing landscape have shifted drastically in recent years. In response, legacy newspapers like The Jewish Week have made significant investments in digital media while continuing to serve our readers and
communities with a print publication of the highest quality. As so many of our loyal readers have discovered in the past few months, life online offers opportunities for engagement, flexibility and information-sharing that can’t be matched by print products, even daily ones. Recognizing both what we’ve learned from the coronavirus crisis and how it has hurt our bottom line and that of our advertisers, The
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NYPD officers in front of Union Temple in Brooklyn. Says a Queens rabbi, “We feel we’re under siege.” GET T Y I MAGES
Steve Lipman Staff Writer
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In Kew Gardens Hills, one pulpit rabbi last week sent a stern letter to the neighborhood’s City Council member, criticizing him for support of proposals to “defund” the New York City Police Department. Another rabbi from the Queens neighborhood recently attended an online public forum with the same Council member, Rory Lancman, during which the rabbi and other members of the Jewish community took Lancman to task for backing bail reform measures last year. Both measures, say critics of Lancman, endanger public safety in general and the Jewish community in particular.
Jews can be found on all sides of the recent demonstrations against police brutality, with many major organizations and local activists voicing their unqualified support for reforming the criminal justice system. In Forest Hills, near Kew Gardens, another rabbi said he has heard a diversity of opinions among his congregants. But the Kew Gardens leaders represent wary constituencies that fear that a reduced police presence and other reforms there will lead to more street crime. And, shaken by the looting that took place in Midtown Manhattan during early protests over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody in May, some in their communities say they are considering moving
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