Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Call for Pidyon Shevuyim as Criminal Case against Shomrim Goes to Trial
Sent in by a Chaptzem reader
One calamity after another has befallen the community at large. Young lives have been taken from us, Jews are facing prosecution, and others already sit in prison.
Most Crown Heights residents wave their hands dismissively when the case against six Shomrim members is brought up. “It’s just politics,” they say. Despite the fact that these are fellow Jews, the young men standing trial on Wednesday are also the volunteers who altruistically aid the community daily, in countless ways. It would be commendable of the community to now actively take a stand for fellow Jews and give support to those who have been on-call 24/7 to serve others.
It is no longer merely politics. The case, which until now many have been dismissive of, has reached and crossed the threshold of trial by jury. Six Shomrim volunteers are facing years of real jail time if convicted.
“This is no longer politics,” says Aron Hershkop, a Shomrim coordinator. “This is now a Pidyon Shvuim matter, and we need the community’s help.”
In a prepared statement, Shomrim said that while serving the community for more than a decade, they requested no monetary contributions, yet with the trial just one day away, they are now looking to the community for support.
A statement by Shomrim:
For over 15 years, Shomrim, under its current leadership, has been gladly helping the Crown Heights community - from assisting a crime victim in filing a police report, to helping someone with a flat tire - without ever once asking for anything in return.
Unfortunately, the situation has changed and six of our volunteers are facing serious criminal charges stemming from an incident in which they were called for assistance.
Each of the six volunteers has a lawyer and the costs of going to trial are too great for them to be able to individually bear. Tens of thousands of dollars have already been spent, and with the trail just one day away, we ask for the community we so generously help to return that kindness and help us cover our costs.
Court will be reconvening Wednesday, where jury selection will begin, followed by the trial, in which the District Attorney will be presenting their case to the court in hopes of securing a conviction.
For those who would like to attend the trial proceedings and show support, you are welcome to. The trial is taking place at 320 Jay Street which is the New York State Supreme Court on the second floor in the Ceremonial 1 court room, starting at 10:00am on Wednesday October 28th.
Contributions can be mailed to Shomrim office at:
537 East New York Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11225
Or you can call the Shomrim hotline (718) 774-3333 after 6:00pm and we will send a member to pick up your contribution.
One calamity after another has befallen the community at large. Young lives have been taken from us, Jews are facing prosecution, and others already sit in prison.
Most Crown Heights residents wave their hands dismissively when the case against six Shomrim members is brought up. “It’s just politics,” they say. Despite the fact that these are fellow Jews, the young men standing trial on Wednesday are also the volunteers who altruistically aid the community daily, in countless ways. It would be commendable of the community to now actively take a stand for fellow Jews and give support to those who have been on-call 24/7 to serve others.
It is no longer merely politics. The case, which until now many have been dismissive of, has reached and crossed the threshold of trial by jury. Six Shomrim volunteers are facing years of real jail time if convicted.
“This is no longer politics,” says Aron Hershkop, a Shomrim coordinator. “This is now a Pidyon Shvuim matter, and we need the community’s help.”
In a prepared statement, Shomrim said that while serving the community for more than a decade, they requested no monetary contributions, yet with the trial just one day away, they are now looking to the community for support.
A statement by Shomrim:
For over 15 years, Shomrim, under its current leadership, has been gladly helping the Crown Heights community - from assisting a crime victim in filing a police report, to helping someone with a flat tire - without ever once asking for anything in return.
Unfortunately, the situation has changed and six of our volunteers are facing serious criminal charges stemming from an incident in which they were called for assistance.
Each of the six volunteers has a lawyer and the costs of going to trial are too great for them to be able to individually bear. Tens of thousands of dollars have already been spent, and with the trail just one day away, we ask for the community we so generously help to return that kindness and help us cover our costs.
Court will be reconvening Wednesday, where jury selection will begin, followed by the trial, in which the District Attorney will be presenting their case to the court in hopes of securing a conviction.
For those who would like to attend the trial proceedings and show support, you are welcome to. The trial is taking place at 320 Jay Street which is the New York State Supreme Court on the second floor in the Ceremonial 1 court room, starting at 10:00am on Wednesday October 28th.
Contributions can be mailed to Shomrim office at:
537 East New York Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11225
Or you can call the Shomrim hotline (718) 774-3333 after 6:00pm and we will send a member to pick up your contribution.
Comments:
Sorry, haven't been keeping up. What are the charges? If they're guilty, why should we give our money to support them? Whey did we let the Spinka Rebbe off the hook? Why do people give him more kavod then before? Because he got up at an asifa, and said "there may have been some things that were done wrong?" Why does everyone from this community always want to let everyone off the hook involved with financial improprieties? And the guy selling organs? How could you people go around saying it's anti-semitism? How could the roshei yeshiva of Lakewood throw a grand seudah hoda'ah for Strulowitz after he got out of jail in Austria? How could they make speeches, dance with him, and videotape the whole event? This ba'al teshuva has found a world that he never expected, and that has shaken his emunas gedolim and emuna in general.
Comment Credit ---This article posted by 
: October 29, 2009 2:57 AM
: October 29, 2009 2:57 AM
Maybe this Ba'al Tshuvah - doesn't understand that all he reads in the media may not be the truth. When people deal with a lot of money, it may sometimes look like they are breaking the law and the govt. starts looking into it and they find that this person didn't break the law but there are others that he was dealing with that did. So they threaten him if he doesn't open his mouth and say who they are, and if he doesn't want to be a snitch he will sit, for no other reason then - not opening his mouth to snitch. It's hard to believe this is done here in the US - such a democrocy !!
FYI - that is why the Spinka Rebbe is under house arrest.
FYI - that is why the Spinka Rebbe is under house arrest.
Comment Credit ---This article posted by : October 29, 2009 8:37 AM
: October 29, 2009 8:37 AM
Maybe this Ba'al Teshuvah should know the law about "innocent until proven guilty" and not make any presumptions...
Comment Credit ---This article posted by : October 29, 2009 7:41 PM
: October 29, 2009 7:41 PM
Wow, you last two guys really believe that if a person calls himself "frum" then he can't be a criminal. And certainly not the Spinka Rebbe. It was only a mulit-million dollar scheme he organized. Can't be, just can't be true you guys, right? What fools in our community!
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Comment Credit ---This article posted by : November 04, 2009 1:31 AM
: November 04, 2009 1:31 AM
