Posted on 07/16/2002 8:30:23 AM PDT by Clive
Of course it was a hate crime. When someone knifes a total stranger in the back in a completely unprovoked attack, what else can it be but a crime of "hate"?
But such is the politically correct distemper of our times, that now that very term itself - "hate crime" - has taken on a whole new, politically charged meaning.
Thus, from the moment of the murder of David Rosenzweig, 49, an Orthodox Jew, outside a Jewish pizz-eria in the Bathurst St. and Lawrence Ave. area early Sunday morning, the broader question both here and abroad has become this:
Was this a "hate crime" in the specific sense we have come to mean it today? Was this poor man killed not simply in a random act of violence, but because he was identifiable as a Jew, allegedly by a "skinhead" - (read a neo-Nazi)?
Actually, the term "skinhead" is really a physical description of the suspect but, given reports that he and two others were threatening patrons of the King David pizzeria prior to the killing, the suspicion among many Jews is that Rosenzweig was targeted, even if at random, because he was a Jew.
And in Canada today, we judge that to be even more terrible than if the victim was simply murdered in a completely random attack.
To me, this distinction has never made any sense. I believe our real problem in Canada is that we go far too easy on all murderers, which is the root problem we should be fixing rather than unduly focusing on the religion or, in other cases, race or sexual orientation of the victim. None of it changes the fact this gentle husband and father of six, an accountant, was killed on his 49th birthday by a cowardly, vile murderer.
A good father
Early Sunday, Rosenzweig had gone to the Bathurst and Lawrence area to help his son, who was involved in a minor car accident which left his car with a flat tire. When he was was killed, he was doing what good fathers (and mothers) do all the time - looking out for one of his kids, wanting to ensure, ironically enough, that he was safe. What a tragedy.
Understandably, many Jews in Toronto are feeling angry, upset and isolated by this terrible murder in the context of rising acts of anti-Semitism both here and abroad ever since the increased violence in the Mideast following recent Palestinian homicide bombings and Israel's military response.
But speaking for myself, as someone who is Jewish, a father, and who has lived most of my adult life within a 10-minute walk of where this murder occurred, I was unafraid to live here on Saturday and I'm unafraid now.
Yes, there is anti-Semitism in Toronto - and everywhere - but it is not the norm here and if that is what many Jewish Israelis now believe, as they do according to the report filed by my colleague, Jay Bushinsky, across the page, then they are wrong.
I live here. I know the vast majority of Torontonians - and Canadians - are decent people, appalled by this murder.
Of course we in the Jewish community must be diligent, particularly at a time of heightened tensions in the Mideast.
But we also need to remember this city and country are among the safest in the world for Jews and for all minorities. There is no reason to succumb to fear.
As for criticism by some Jews (admirably not among the Toronto Jewish leaders I've heard) that Police Chief Julian Fantino did not automatically label Rosenzweig's death a hate crime - and yesterday police said they have no reason thus far to suspect Rosenzweig was specifically targeted because he was a Jew - I'd respond than when it comes to seeing that those responsible for this vile crime are brought to justice, there is no one I trust more than Fantino and the Toronto police.
Look, whatever happened here, surely what's important right now is bringing the perpetrator to justice, not endless political debates in which other agendas are at work about whether this was a "hate" crime in the way we define the term today.
It is also incumbent upon us as Jews not to use this awful murder in contexts where it does not apply. We have seen in this city, this country, and abroad, how some politicians, media, union leaders and religious figures - who should all be examining their own consciences, but won't - have used the Mideast crisis to imply that all Jews, whether in Israel or the Diaspora, are somehow to blame for every controversy in the Mideast. We have seen them argue there is only one "correct" position on the Mideast - Israel is always wrong.
Who knows how such rhetoric may affect people already predisposed to violence, hate and anti-Semitism?
Let us not sink to that level. Let us never suggest, as Jews, that any act of anti-Semitism against a Jew, alleged or otherwise, justifies the assigning of group guilt or blame to all Arabs or Muslims, or justifies unreasonable acts against all Palestinians in Israel's legitimate efforts to fight terrorism.
If some among us feel isolated and afraid in the wake of this killing in Toronto, let us remember that this is how Arabs and Muslims living here have often felt in the wake of Sept. 11. (And let's also remember that the man police arrested last night in connection with the murder of Rosenzweig is white - not Arab or Muslim.)
The point is that the assigning of group blame, or trying to score tit-for-tat political points about the Mideast based on the latest criminal acts anywhere in the world directed against Jews or Muslims is wrong.
No matter who does it.
Common sense ought to have told the Tories that.
Is there a difference between a hate crime and terrorism?
Envy crime: robbing a person wealthier than you.
Love crime: For men, leaving the seat up. For women, hiding the remote.
Humor crime: Purposefully tripping a clown down an escalator.
Jealous crime: Stealing the hub caps of a spouses extra-marital lover.
Sad crime: Stealing hub caps from those attending wakes and funerals.
Anger crime: Tricking a mime to speak by claiming he won the Mega-lotto.
High anxiety crime (politicians and bureaucrats take note): choking the living sh*t out of somebody that desperately deserves it.
My own adopted city at the Great Lakes area has seen an exodus of Jewish citizens. The reason?. Refer to "A Good Place To Come From"- a book by Morley Torgov. No, not what some politically correct zealot would like to think, just the old fast lane, big money, higher life, seems to have been desired by the older Jewish citizens here, for their youngsters. This meant encouraging them to go to Toronto, or to a big city. (Hope this will not be construed as a hate crime, saying this).
My last encounter in any Jewish area, if it was, was on a trip to Chicago, 1991. We stayed outside of the Windy City in Skokie. Couldnt for the life of me see, how people could hate these people. Just quietly enjoyed the whole place. Reason for this ramble is this: Much of the wretched Canadian press has seized on this as an excuse to promote an agenda- it is a HATE of their own.
Example: When the Toronto Star trumpeted a big headline thus: All set for Olympics bid, 2008 - a obscure little paragraph appeared down on the left side. Three killed in night club slaying..
In essence, what is going on in Toronto is killings left right and centre by gangs- usually against each other. Two prominent recent immigrant groups are often involved. Just wait for the Canadian press to get a chance- "Neo-Nazi's and they get their orgasm for free. That comes because they can hit at the average old style Canadian, both home grown and old immigrant stock.
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