{"id":68259,"date":"2015-05-03T11:51:32","date_gmt":"2015-05-03T19:51:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=68259"},"modified":"2015-05-05T15:20:18","modified_gmt":"2015-05-05T23:20:18","slug":"a-jewish-hero-emerges-in-baltimore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=68259","title":{"rendered":"A Jewish Hero Emerges In Baltimore"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s good to see Jews taking the side of the oppressed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Baltimore<\/a><\/p>\n

Rabbi Yerachmiel Shapiro<\/a>, left, and Meach Johnson celebrate on Friday, May 1, 2015, after State\u2019s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby announced criminal charges against all six officers suspended after Freddie Gray suffered a fatal spinal injury while in police custody in Baltimore. (AP Photo\/David Goldman<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The Jerusalem Report<\/a>: “Residents shouted with joy, embraced and honked car horns on Friday on the same Baltimore streets where rioters had clashed with police earlier this week in anger over the death of a black man who suffered severe spinal injuries while in custody.”<\/p>\n

Newsweek Aug. 19, 2014<\/a>: Holocaust Survivor Hedy Epstein, Arrested in Ferguson Protest, Says Racism Is Alive in America<\/p>\n

Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld: Why a bunch of rabbis went to Baltimore to protest \u2014 and pray<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\nRabbi Shapiro, myself and three of our rabbinic colleagues from a local Greater Washington Orthodox rabbinic organization known as The Beltway Vaad were invited to Baltimore by Rabbi Etan Mintz of B\u2019nai Israel, a historic synagogue in Downtown Baltimore. He encouraged us to join his Circle of Unity gathering, which he had called for in response to last week\u2019s riots.<\/p>\n

We arrived not knowing what to expect and, truthfully, had concerns about whether our presence would be welcomed.<\/p>\n

On the contrary, though, we were welcomed, literally, with open arms. Our experience that day \u2014 six Jewish clergy in a predominantly African-American neighborhood \u2014 was one of warmth and welcoming.<\/p>\n

The Baltimore we found was vastly different from the one we, and most Americans, have seen portrayed over the last few days in the national media. As we walked the streets with our prayer shawls on our shoulders and kippot on our heads, we were stopped and embraced by total strangers. Together, we prayed for solidarity and unity in a way that made me feel more alive than my prayers that same morning in my own synagogue.<\/p>\n

We spent much of our time listening to local citizens talk about the problems they were facing in their community.<\/p>\n

Then at one point, we looked up and saw Rabbi Shapiro leading a prayer for a large group that had gathered around him in a circle. He was in the middle of the circle swaying with them in song and prayer. It was a brief, but genuine moment of community and brotherhood.<\/p>\n

The more we dialogued, the more personal connections we made. More than 30 pastors from the community gathered on Saturday in prayer with Rabbi Mintz, and one pastor we met forged such a strong connection with Rabbi Mintz that the next day, Saturday, he came to B\u2019nai Israel and led the entire congregation in song.<\/p>\n

It should be obvious, but the more we got to know people in West Baltimore, the more we realized how much we have in common with them. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I prefer Jim Goad’s perspective<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\nTo those who\u2019d refer to last week\u2019s Baltimore riots as \u201cunrest\u201d or even an \u201cuprising,\u201d the sort of urban ne\u2019er-do-wells who punched reporters and smashed police cars and looted grocery stores and burned buildings were merely reacting to the economic exploitation that capitalism had foisted upon them and the relentless brain-bludgeoning racism that has forced generations of them to squirm in pain under white supremacy\u2019s pale, unforgiving thumb.<\/p>\n

No one could be bothered to explain how the walking dead who occupy a terrifying quotient of Baltimore\u2019s no-go zones were being economically exploited. Unless I\u2019m missing something, such people typically don\u2019t have many belongings worth stealing nor any job skills worth exploiting. Unlike feelings, dollars can be measured, and such types tend to drain more dollars from the public till than they provide.<\/p>\n

And the already threadbare \u201cwhite supremacy\u201d narrative crumbles\u2014at least to those who are willing to listen\u2014when one considers that half of Baltimore\u2019s 3,000 cops are black. It falls apart even more disastrously seeing as how the city\u2019s mayor is a black woman. Baltimore\u2019s police chief and city council president are also black. The Baltimore City State\u2019s Attorney is a black woman, and last week when she filed criminal charges against six police officers that were in some way involved in Gray\u2019s death, three of those officers turned out to be black. The most serious charge\u2014that of \u201csecond-degree depraved-heart murder\u201d\u2014was filed against a black male officer.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s good to see Jews taking the side of the oppressed. Rabbi Yerachmiel Shapiro, left, and Meach Johnson celebrate on Friday, May 1, 2015, after State\u2019s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby announced criminal charges against all six officers suspended after Freddie … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,570],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-jews","category-police"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t