Charlottesville Police Refused to Protect Synagogue From Nazis, So Jewish Community Hired Armed

[workinclasszero]

Charlottesville Police Refused to Protect Synagogue From Nazis, So Jewish Community Hired Armed Security For First Time
BY JACK MOORE ON 8/16/17 AT 7:01 AM

The Jewish community in Charlottesville hired armed security to protect its synagogue for the first time after local police declined to provide a guard for the site despite hundreds of white supremacists congregating on the town over the weekend for a rally that resulted in the murder of counter-protester Heather Heyer.

Alan Zimmerman, president of the Congregation Beth Israel in the Virginia town, wrote a blog post published on Monday evening following the violent scenes on Saturday that resulted in a car-ramming attack that took place just 200 feet from the place of worship.

He described the fear he felt in the presence of white supremacists, who rallied around anti-Semitic slogans, as 40 members of the community prayed in the synagogue, without support from the local authorities.

“For half an hour, three men dressed in fatigues and armed with semi-automatic rifles stood across the street from the temple,” he wrote. “Had they tried to enter, I don’t know what I could have done to stop them, but I couldn’t take my eyes off them, either.”

http://www.newsweek.com/charlottesville-police-refused-protect-synagogue-nazis-so-it-hired-armed-651260

[spanone]

1. the police made FIVE arrests that night...they must have been home watching it on teevee

[still_one]

2. Was it because the Charlottesville police did not have the resources?

[workinclasszero]

6. Not sure but it looks suspicious to me

If you watch the Vice video of the alt right riot the cops seemed to let mob action go on with no inference for long periods of time.

[still_one]

14. I saw that, it was as disturbing as hell. Awful

[Hekate]

18. I can't imagine a police department without a mutual aid pact with other cities. I know we have them

...in California. Police, Fire, all of them can call on their brothers/sisters in uniform in times of crisis.

It makes me wonder what the agenda was.

[backscatter712]

19. Funny how they always have resources when it's a left wing protest..

They had ample time to prepare, they could have called for backup from neighboring police departments or even the National Guard.

But they didn't.

[IronLionZion]

20. There were lots of militia guys with guns

and the Charlottesville and state police were trying to avoid a shootout, which often led to long delayed actions to intervene in separating the two groups. Or that's what our liberal Democratic politicians there have been saying. It looks very bad.

[obamanut2012]

21. Yes, that is why -- no way the CPD could handle any of this

Nor the UVA cops. The VSP and NG should have been patrolling and protecting.

However, the UVA and CPD need training from th3 Feds located up Route 29, because what happened on the Lawn Friday night was a disgrace.

[njhoneybadger]

3. Who gave the orders to stand down

There needs to be an investigation of the Charlottesville police inaction

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

26. Seriously!

[smirkymonkey]

4. K&R

[raven mad]

5. Seriously, haven't the KKKNotzies figured out

that Israel has the best military anywhere? Also, an entire WORLD fought them the last time they tried this shit?

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/s-our-president-nazi-sympathizer

[workinclasszero]

8. What's funny to me is the republican party claims to be a friend of Israel

While its base voters are Jew hating Nazis which the republican president backs 100%!.

[raven mad]

10. Yep, but sTrumpet didn't even try to hide his antisemitism during the campaign, or after it.

Deluded jerks voted for the orange haired monster!

[workinclasszero]

11. And what about Netanyahu?

Is the idiot blind and deaf?

Maybe he didn't see the video of the nazi Trump mobs in Cville screaming JEW WILL NOT REPLACE ME???

[raven mad]

13. Nah, he needs the money.

Seriously, and hanging on to the money is hanging on to the power. Mr. Netanyahu is in serious debt.

[BigmanPigman]

23. And trouble. There's an investigation into illegal financial actions committed by

him and I think his wife too.

[raven mad]

24. Oh, and his "American Manufacturing" schtick?

Most of his lady's stuff is made overseas.

It isn't going to be pretty - but it will be interesting.

[JonLP24]

30. I think that's because they want armaggedon

[Mosby]

7. Mr. Trump: THIS is what those "nice" Nazis did to Congregation Beth-El in Charlottesville.

On Saturday morning, I stood outside our synagogue with the armed security guard we hired after the police department refused to provide us with an officer during morning services. (Even the police department’s limited promise of an observer near our building was not kept — and note, we did not ask for protection of our property, only our people as they worshipped).

Forty congregants were inside. Here’s what I witnessed during that time.

For half an hour, three men dressed in fatigues and armed with semi-automatic rifles stood across the street from the temple. Had they tried to enter, I don’t know what I could have done to stop them, but I couldn’t take my eyes off them, either. Perhaps the presence of our armed guard deterred them. Perhaps their presence was just a coincidence, and I’m paranoid. I don’t know.

Several times, parades of Nazis passed our building, shouting, “There's the synagogue!” followed by chants of “Seig Heil” and other anti-Semitic language. Some carried flags with swastikas and other Nazi symbols.

A guy in a white polo shirt walked by the synagogue a few times, arousing suspicion. Was he casing the building, or trying to build up courage to commit a crime? We didn’t know. Later, I noticed that the man accused in the automobile terror attack wore the same polo shirt as the man who kept walking by our synagogue; apparently it’s the uniform of a white supremacist group. Even now, that gives me a chill.

When services ended, my heart broke as I advised congregants that it would be safer to leave the temple through the back entrance rather than through the front, and to please go in groups.

This is 2017 in the United States of America.

Later that day, I arrived on the scene shortly after the car plowed into peaceful protesters. It was a horrific and bloody scene.

Soon, we learned that Nazi websites had posted a call to burn our synagogue. I sat with one of our rabbis and wondered whether we should go back to the temple to protect the building. What could I do if I were there? Fortunately, it was just talk – but we had already deemed such an attack within the realm of possibilities, taking the precautionary step of removing our Torahs, including a Holocaust scroll, from the premises.

-snip-


https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029470542

[workinclasszero]

9. But it couldn't happen here right?

God help us all. Trump is backing these nazis 100%. He made that clear yesterday.

[raven mad]

12. Oh, right, "it won't happen here".......not being sarcastic to YOU workinclass, just the phrase!

but isn't that the same thing France, Austria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Netherlands, Greece, Denmark, Yugoslavia, Denmark and others said?

[workinclasszero]

15. Most likely

raven mad.

America stills sleeps.

First they came for the Jews but I'm not Jewish so...


Yeah.

[raven mad]

16. Bingo. I tend to be a little ahead of the usual curve on that stuff.

Had a wonderful neighborhood growing up, and got to know everybody. As the only girl of my age for several blocks, had to ride with the boys - and what a bunch! All late Cape Canaveral, young Kennedy Space Center engineers, support, etc. of all nationalities. It was great.

[raven mad]

25. I cried reading this.

What if it had been Muslims, defacing a Baptist church?

We'd hear from the sTrumpet then, right?

[workinclasszero]

33. OMG Trump would have called out a drone strike on them

Or at least the national guard.

I wonder if he would have said there were nice fine people in the Muslim mob like he did with the KKK/nazis huh?

[Yonnie3]

17. I found no mention of this in the local paper or on TV here in Charlottesville

Much of the "news" here is regurgitated press releases or if it bleeds it leads stories. I guess it is not surprising they kept a low profile.

They are on the back side of the park and a block away, so the Nazi low lifes didn't have far to walk.

[workinclasszero]

34. Strange that this story wasn't covered locally

Weird

[Yonnie3]

35. It has been now.

Perhaps a low profile might have been wanted.

btw, like your handle!

[workinclasszero]

38. Oh it has?

Well that's good I think.

The whole country needs to know that the alt-right with their pepe the frog meme and white nerd image are in reality Jew hating nazi filth.

No different than KKK night rider terrorists or nazi brownshirts.

[bronxiteforever]

22. By the waters, the waters of Babylon

We lay down and wept, and wept, for thee Zion
We remember thee, remember thee, remember thee Zion
Don McLean

We remember basic decency and compassion. It is amazing to think that we were a country that once liberated concentration camps. FDR is rolling in his grave.

[NRaleighLiberal]

27. when the light shines brightly we will find the cockroaches everywhere, sadly

we can't let them scurry away

[Jopin Klobe]

28. Well, it's hard to arrest someone ...

... when your hood, sheet and armband get in the way ...

[pansypoo53219]

29. the 2nd amendment says WELL REGULATED. the police should have been able to remove

ALL the bullets at least. let the babies have their blankies.

[Behind the Aegis]

31. I am shocked!

Oh wait, no, I am not. Many Jews are learning a powerful lesson this week, when it comes to us, unless the threat is overly dire, we are ON OUR OWN. Sure, there will be a good mensches, but they are far and few between for my taste. Frankly, I am bit shocked at the number of people finally starting to understand the ramifications and seriousness of the anti-Semitism which is festering throughout this country.

[workinclasszero]

36. The republican party has coddled and encouraged these vermin for years

These scumballs are literally the base voters of the republican party!

It's so insane to me that the damned republicans are automatically considered the 'friends of Israel' while here in the USA their base voters are nazi/KKK jew hating bastards!

Trump refuses to condemn NAZIS for fear of losing their votes FFS!

[mucifer]

32. The mayor is Jewish and very vocal. I wonder what he is going to do about all of this.

[Yonnie3]

37. An inaccuracy in the story

The car ramming was more than 1500 feet away. The park is 250 feet away.