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Ultra Orthodox Jewish Security Forces in Brooklyn Wield Undue Influence
Cleopatra7 posted a topic in Judaism
In Brooklyn, ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods are patrolled by private security forces called shomrim. However, there are questions as to whether the shomrim have undue influence on the NYPD and whether they bully non-Jewish neighbors for the crime of being non-Jewish in a mostly Jewish area: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/18/nyregion/brooklyns-private-jewish-patrols-wield-power-some-call-them-bullies.html This entire set-up seems extremely sketchy to me. There are so many problems that can occur when you deputize civilians to think they're cops. Call it the George Zimmerman effect. It's even worse when insular religious communities are involved, because anyone who isn't a part of of the community is seen as an existential threat, like David Flores and Taj Williams were. I was a little shocked but not surprised when the parents of the murdered boy called the shomrim first rather than the police when they noticed their son was missing. Based on what I recall from the case, the boy was left alive for quite a while before he was killed. Perhaps if the real police had been called, he could have been saved in time (doubtful, probably, but the shomrim definitely don't have the proper skills needed to handle a child abduction case). -
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