‘We’re watching,’ says group that attends NYC court cases about Jew-hatred
A Yiddish Santa, a former Soviet Jewry activist and a retired prosecutor walk into a courtroom. What sounds like the beginning of a joke is, for a group of Jews in New York City, a routine.The trio are part of a loose network of Jews, who spend their mornings and afternoons sitting through hearings for those accused of offenses related to Jew-hatred, sometimes waiting hours for a proceeding that lasts just minutes.They are not lawyers in the cases, relatives of the victims or witnesses to the crimes. Their role, as they see it, is to be present so everyone knows that the Jewish community is watching.“It began about three years ago with two particular arrests,” Glenn Richter, 81, founder of New York Jewish Community Judicial Watch Group, told JNS.He referred to the arrests, in November 2022, of Christopher Brown, then 21, and Matthew Mahrer, then 22, who the New York…
The New York Jewish Community Judicial Watch Group, founded by Glenn Richter, comprises dozens of volunteers who attend court hearings for individuals accused of antisemitic offenses in New York City. Established three years ago after a thwarted synagogue attack, the group aims to demonstrate the Jewish community's vigilance and encourage prosecutors to prioritize these cases. Richter, a former Soviet Jewry activist, believes their presence ensures that "the judge and the DA’s reps had to see the pain of the Jewish community." Members, including retirees and professionals, attend numerous cases, from subway assaults to stabbings, with some noting an increase in cases since Mayor Zohran Mamdani took office. Lynn Bursky Tammam, a co-founder, joined after a 2021 antisemitic attack, stating, "We couldn’t believe that this was happening in New York."
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