Whenever there is an incident involving police and the hasidic community, riots may very well insue. This particular incident occured last night. A cop was seen manhandeling an elderly man after pulling him over for talking on his cell phone while driving. The 75 yr. old man is Arthur Schick whose family owns the Schick's bakery in Boro Park.
Sariel Widawsky, co-owner of Schick's Bakery, said he saw the traffic stop through the front window of his store, which once was owned by Schick's mother. He said he saw police push Schick, whom he described as a friend he's known since 1960.
"They pushed Arthur against the car and physically manhandled him in a way unbefitting such a well-respected and liked member of the community,"
Sariel Widawsky, co-owner of Schick's Bakery, said he saw the traffic stop through the front window of his store, which once was owned by Schick's mother. He said he saw police push Schick, whom he described as a friend he's known since 1960.
"They pushed Arthur against the car and physically manhandled him in a way unbefitting such a well-respected and liked member of the community,"
There is no question that the community caused a chillul hashem with the fires in the street etc.. They certainly had cause to be upset however. The article sems to make it quite clear that Arthur was hard of hearing and may not have understood what the officer(s) were saying. You can't handle a elderly man the same way as a 30 year old punk. I'm waiting to hear an apology from the police department.
4 comments:
You have an obligation to be a mench no matter what. There was no justification for what they did. They need to apologize to the local community for what they did, and to the Jewish World at large for the Chillul Hashem that they made.
Disgusting.
There is no way right now to know if the police manhandled this man or not. I'm certainly not doing to trust the hoodlums that started the riots to tell us about what is manhandling and what is dignity.
But, either way, we need to be extremely clear and unequivocal. The behavior demonstrated afterwards was animalistic. There is no excuse for this type of behavior. Property destruction is completely wrong and the ways of savages.
This behavior should call us all to do a cheshbon hanefesh regarding our parenting, our policies, and our ways of dealing with all people.
Certainly it is a chilul hashem and it would be great if the community would issue an apology but I doubt we'll seee that. If the police did rough up the elderly man they too shouls issue an apology.
Someone told me the Boro Park Chasidim were just trying to burn their Chametz a few days early.
Seriously, when Chasidim riot, and as some community members say, the reason for attacking the police is the fact that they are upset about getting parking tickets, we are all up "Schick's creek." I think there should be a general boycott of all of Boro Park until the culprits are caught and punished and the leadership, political AND Rabbinic, apologizes to the Police and Jews everywhere. We CAN live without Boro Park.
Dag
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