Jack Salzman, Cornel West Struggles in the Promised

Blacks andjeu's: The Struggle in the Cities \\ 119
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But the cooperation in politics could not hide the tensions that still simmered
between Blacks and Jews. In 1991, for the first time, tensions between Blacks and
Jews broke out into open violence in Crown Heights, in Brooklyn. 13
But the cooperation in politics could not hide the tensions that still simmered
between Blacks and Jews. In 1991, for the first time, tensions between Blacks and
Jews broke out into open violence in Crown Heights, in Brooklyn.
For years, Blacks and Hasidic Jews had lived in uneasy proximity in Crown
Heights. Crown Heights had once been a Jewish neighborhood. Like many
Jewish neighborhoods, it had changed complexion in the 1950s and 1960s.
Blacks had moved in, crime had increased, city services had deteriorated. Many
Jews had left. But a group of Hasidic Jews, known as the Lubavitchers, considered
it the center of their religious community and were determined to stay. This
was not a neighborhood where Blacks and Jews mingled. The Hasidic Jews in
Crown Heights were an insular, self-sustaining community that shut out anyone
who was not part of their sect — Black or white, Jewish or Christian or Moslem.
These were not Jews who had once marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. They
were conservative and ultra-orthodox. They voted Republican, were pro-life, and
set up anti-crime patrols that targeted Black residents. They focused their political
energy on Israel, their own internal conflicts, and getting better services from
the city of New York. Blacks were at first mystified by the Hasidic Jews, distinctive
in their black coats, black hats, and side curls. Later many came to resent
them. The Hasidic Jews were wealthier and competed with Blacks for scarce
housing. Many Blacks believed the Hasidic Jews got better police protection and
better city services than they did.
On a hot August night, a car bringing home the leader of the Hasidic sect ran
a red light and struck a 7-year-old Black boy, Gavin Cato. An angry crowd of
Blacks gathered. What happened next is disputed. An ambulance from a Jewish
ambulance service arrived. Police directed the ambulance to take away the Jewish
driver of the car who was surrounded by angry Blacks and was in danger. A
minute later, a city ambulance arrived and took Cato to the hospital, where he
died. Crowds of Blacks, enraged that the driver of the car was not immediately
arrested and that the Jewish driver had been taken away by ambulance before
Cato, surged through the streets. Three hours later, a group of Black teenagers
descended upon Yankel Rosenbaum, a 29-year-old Hasidic Jewish scholar visiting
from Australia. "Kill the Jew!" they shouted, and stabbed Rosenbaum to
death. The Black teenager arrested for killing Rosenbaum, Lemerick Nelson, Jr.,
was later acquitted.
Four days of attacks and rioting followed. Blacks attacked Jewish buildings
and stores, breaking windows, looting stores, and setting fire to cars. They threw
stones at Jewish and white passers by. David Dinkins, the Black mayor of New
York, hesitated to deploy vast numbers of police to stop the rioting. He and the
city's Black police chief hoped the rioting could be contained and tempers calmed
by restraining the police. Dinkins went to Crown Heights to appeal for calm.
13
For years, Blacks and Hasidic Jews had lived in uneasy proximity in Crown
Heights. Crown Heights had once been a Jewish neighborhood. Like many
Jewish neighborhoods, it had changed complexion in the 1950s and 1960s.
Blacks had moved in, crime had increased, city services had deteriorated. Many
Jews had left. But a group of Hasidic Jews, known as the Lubavitchers, considered
it the center of their religious community and were determined to stay. This
was not a neighborhood where Blacks and Jews mingled. The Hasidic Jews in
Crown Heights were an insular, self-sustaining community that shut out anyone
who was not part of their sect—Black or white, Jewish or Christian or Moslem.
These were not Jews who had once marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. They
were conservative and ultra-orthodox. They voted Republican, were pro-life, and
set up anti-crime patrols that targeted Black residents. They focused their political
energy on Israel, their own internal conflicts, and getting better services from
the city of New York. Blacks were at first mystified by the Hasidic Jews, distinctive
in their black coats, black hats, and side curls. Later many came to resent
them. The Hasidic Jews were wealthier and competed with Blacks for scarce
housing. Many Blacks believed the Hasidic Jews got better police protection and
better city services than they did.
On a hot August night, a car bringing home the leader of the Hasidic sect ran
a red light and struck a 7-year-old Black boy, Gavin Cato. An angry crowd of
Blacks gathered. What happened next is disputed. An ambulance from a Jewish
ambulance service arrived. Police directed the ambulance to take away the Jewish
driver of the car who was surrounded by angry Blacks and was in danger. A
minute later, a city ambulance arrived and took Cato to the hospital, where he
died. Crowds of Blacks, enraged that the driver of the car was not immediately
arrested and that the Jewish driver had been taken away by ambulance before
Cato, surged through the streets. Three hours later, a group of Black teenagers
descended upon Yankel Rosenbaum, a 29-year-old Hasidic Jewish scholar visiting
from Australia. "Kill the Jew!" they shouted, and stabbed Rosenbaum to
death. The Black teenager arrested for killing Rosenbaum, Lemerick Nelson, Jr.,
was later acquitted.
Four days of attacks and rioting followed. Blacks attacked Jewish buildings
and stores, breaking windows, looting stores, and setting fire to cars. They threw
stones at Jewish and white passers by. David Dirikins, the Black mayor of New
York, hesitated to deploy vast numbers of police to stop the rioting. He and the
city's Black police chief hoped the rioting could be contained and tempers calmed
by restraining the police. Dinkins went to Crown Heights to appeal for calm.