What is a Hate Crime?

[Frank]

Gunman Wounds Two in Los Angeles Synagogue

by Ernie Singer
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(IsraelNN.com)
Los Angeles police say two Jewish men in their 30s were shot in the legs as they were about to enter a synagogue in the North Hollywood section of Los Angeles Thursday morning. A man described as an African-American with a handgun entered the Adat Yeshurun Valley Sephardic synagogue at about 6:20 a.m. Thursday and opened fire. The victims were taken to a hospital in stable condition.

Police are investigating the shooting as a hate crime. The Los Angeles Times says police arrested a man near the synagogue, but the sources say they don't believe he was the gunman.

The newspaper adds that police officials have alerted other synagogues around Los Angeles about the shooting, and police have stepped up patrols at Jewish religious institutions. Detectives are trying to determine if the gunman acted alone or as part of a larger group.

According to the Associated Press, the wounded people had just pulled into the synagogue parking structure for morning services. Investigators said no words were exchanged between the shooter and his victims.

"Grave and shocking"
Minister of Information and Diaspora Yuli Edelstein called the event “grave and shocking.”

The attack “reminds us that anti-Semitism is alive and kicking and has no hesitation in terrorizing the Jewish people's holy of holies. We and the nations of the world must continue to fight anti-Semitism as it has already been proven that what starts with the Jews ends with other nations as well.”

The attack occurred about 16 km. away from a Jewish community center where, ten years ago, white supremacist Buford Furrow shot and wounded five people and later killed a letter carrier. Three children were among the wounded in that attack.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/134131

Two shot at California synagogue
October 29, 2009

(JTA) -- Two people were shot in the legs in the parking lot of a synagogue in North Hollywood, Calif.

Los Angeles Police said the African-American suspect approached a man entering the Adat Yeshurun Valley Sephardic Synagogue for morning prayers at approximately 6:20 a.m. Thursday, according to media reports. The assailant shot the man in the leg with a handgun, then fired again and hit another man.

The synagogue is located in the San Fernando Valley's Orthodox community.

Police initially said they were investigating the incident as a hate crime, and the Los Angeles Police Department has stepped up patrols around city Jewish institutions. But law enforcmenet sources have told the Los Angeles Times that they are investigating the possibility that the attack was related to a business or personal dispute, with one victim the target and the other shot because he witnessed the attack.

A man was detained near the facility shortly after the shooting, but police have released him.
The victims, both Jewish, were reported to be in good condition after being transported to a local hospital. One was identified as Maor Ben-Nissan, 37, who owns a tile store and prays at the synagogue every morning. He immigrated to the U.S. from Israel as a child.

The Secure Community Network, the national network coordinating security for the Jewish community, said it was urging Jewish institutions to remain vigilant and revisit the security procedures they have in place until more information about the incident is known.
http://jta.org/news/article/2009/10/29/1008820/two-shot-at-calif-sy...
A terrorable thing happened in Los Angeles this morning, two men were shot while on their way to pray at morning worship service.
One story two different reports. One report tells the story, and probable cause. One paper tells half the story and adds another staory to it. One report, reports the news. One report imflames the reader? Both report are from the Israeli press. Interesting how this story is covered.

Was it a hate crime or a business deal gone bad?

[Elaine Friedland]

Frank,

JTA is a US basis news service, not part of the Israeli press. JTA frequently reprints news from other sources.

The only business deals in which someone would shot another are "mafia" style business deals. From my gut experience this is a hate crime..

[Frank]

You could be right, but this is in LA not NY the MOB basks in the sun out there they don't shot people. One guy got shot because he was there and for no other reason. If the intened victum was going into his office and the shoter shot a second on the side walk because he could ID him, and the relgion of the two men was not released then it would be just another shooting until the police got finished with their investigation. But it did not happen at the office so yes on the surface it is a hate crime. It will be interesting if it is ever reported what it was all about. As to the reportes. It does not matter if one is poart of Isreali press or not and the other is. I was looking at the manor in which the two reported the incident. One reported just the know facts, the other put in stuff that was intened to inflame the reader.

[Elaine Friedland]

Frank,

The place where they were shot was right on the synagogue's property. Another article noted that the synagogue hires security during the weekend. so there probably has been threats.

[GABE1]

Lets not jump to conclusions as there are tons of nuts in LaLaLand.

If it does turn out to be a hate crime than this person(s) must be punished very, very severely.
There is no place for this in any civilized state.

[Frank]

You are right, Gabe, lets see where this goes. First off to shot anyone in the street or parking lot, there is some level of hate. They have not even found the shooter yet. But if it is some sort of business deal that went south then the first vivtum should beable to ID the guy. And yes California has more then their share of the fruitcakes it seems. And again if it turns out that the first vivtum was targetted because of what he is then the full force of the law needs to be handed out.

[Elaine Friedland]

The police are still searching for the shooter. This is a little background on the situation on the Jewish community in LA.

-------
Amanda Susskind, a regional director of the Anti-Defamation League citing a recent hate crime report by the city's Commission on Human Relations,said Jews in Los Angeles are disproportionately targeted for religious hate crimes.

"Statistics consistently show Jews to be far and away the most frequently targeted religious group, with 74 percent of hate crimes motivated by religion being perpetrated against Jews in Los Angeles County," Susskind said.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1256799043427&pagena...

[GABE1]

Figures lie and liers figure.

Statistics are just that and may not be valid in this case

[John Fisher]

According to the Uniform Crime Report on hate crimes based on religion we see

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,477 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-biased offenses showed:

* 68.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
* 9.5 percent were anti-other religion.
* 9.0 percent were anti-Islamic.
* 4.4 percent were anti-Catholic.
* 4.3 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
* 4.0 percent were anti-Protestant.
* 0.4 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/hc2007/incidents.htm

Bias motivation.............Incidents........... Offenses............. Victims1 '''''''''''''Known offenders2

Religion:....................... 1,400 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''1,477 ................1,628 .................576
Anti-Jewish ....................969 ....................1,010 ...............1,127................. 320
Anti-Catholic ..................61........................ 65................... 70 .....................31
Anti-Protestant............... 57 .......................59.................... 67..................... 22
Anti-Islamic,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 115..................... 133.................. 142.................... 104
Anti-Other Religion.......... 130..................... 140.................. 148.................... 62
Anti-Multiple Religious groups 62 .................64..................... 66..................... 32
Anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc. 6,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 6....................... 8........................ 5

These are not the statistics. These are the facts as reported to the FBI.

[Frank]

Arrest of Jewish terrorist raises questions
By Marcy Oster · November 2, 2009

Yaakov "Jack" Teitel sits in an Israeli police vehicle after being arrested in October 2009 for killing two Palestinians in 1997 and other attacks. (Israeli Police Handout / Flash90 / JTA)JERUSALEM (JTA) -- After the news broke in Israel that a West Bank settler was charged with murdering two Palestinians in 1997 and bombing the home of a prominent Israeli professor last year, many Israelis were asking why it took police so long.

On Sunday, Israeli authorities lifted a gag order on the arrest of Yaakov (Jack) Teitel, a 37-year-old American immigrant living in the settlement of Shvut Rachel, on a variety of charges dating back to the murders of a Palestinian cab driver and shepherd.

Teitel is also charged with planting several explosive devices in 2006 and 2007 directed at Arabs, Christians and police; sending a bomb hidden in a Purim gift basket to a messianic Jewish family that left a 15-year-old boy seriously injured; and planting a pipe bomb in 2008 near the Jerusalem home of Zeev Sternhell, a prominent left-wing academic.

Some Israeli commentators suggested that had Teitel limited his attacks to Palestinians, Israeli authorities would have left the investigations into the attacks on Palestinians grow cold.

“Teitel's fatal error was turning on other Jews,” Ha’aretz columnist Gideon Levy wrote Monday. “Had he been satisfied with acts of murder against the Palestinian population, he would never have been caught.”

Teitel had been arrested in 2000 upon entering Israel after intelligence reports suggested that he had committed the 1997 murders, but he was released due to lack of evidence. Despite suspicions about his role in the murders, Teitel was granted a license to carry a handgun.

On Oct. 7, a joint police-Shin Bet operation arrested Teitel while he was in the Orthodox Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Nof hanging up posters supporting last summer's attack on a gay and lesbian club in Tel Aviv. Police said Teitel confessed to the 1997 murders and several other attacks. He also reportedly confessed to attacking the gay and lesbian club, but the Shin Bet said he was not the gunman.

Police officials said Teitel had been under surveillance for a time but had been very careful to conceal his activities and refrain from perpetrating attacks while under surveillance. After the more recent attacks, authorities were able to ascertain a pattern linking Teitel to the crimes dating back to 1997.

Originally from Florida, Teitel made aliyah in 2000, though he moved back and forth between Israel and the United States for the past 20 years, according to reports. He has four young children.

Police said that Teitel, a loner who never learned Hebrew, became a weapons expert, and a search of his Shvut Rachel home turned up a cache of weapons and explosives.

His attorney, Adi Keidar, said at a news conference Sunday that Teitel is "mentally unstable" and believes Divine visions guided his acts.

Figures from the left and right in Israel questioned why it took authorities so long to catch up with Teitel. Some used the news of the arrest as an opportunity to condemn Jewish settlements in the West Bank as a haven for extremists. Supporters of the settlements called such characterizations unfair.

"Acts of the kind allegedly committed by Yaakov Teitel are grave, prohibited and unacceptable,” Danny Dayan, chairman of the Yesha Council of settlements, said Sunday. “Any person of conscience in Israel must rise up in indignation against such acts, as well as against any despicable attempt to use them to gain political capital by blaming an entire community that is not connected -- and is in fact vehemently opposed -- to such actions."

The arrest came just days following Israel’s commemorations of the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a right-wing extremist. The Hebrew anniversary of the assassination was last week.
http://jta.org/news/article/2009/11/02/1008891/arrest-of-jewish-ter...

Hate crimes are not restricted to Europe and America. This man is ful of hate. If what this reporter says about the investigation is true, there could be many more home grown terrorist in Israel.

[Elaine Friedland]

Frank,


Hate crimes can be committed by any people against any people.

[John Fisher]

Technically you are correct Elaine but according to the Hate Crimes legislation if you are a white heterosexual, christian, male you are not a protected class, and thus hate crimes cannot be committed against them.

[Frank]

Elaine true when hate is in the heart of the person committing the crime. But not according to the laws. It is only a hate crime if the person or group is covered. You are covered on two fronts, one being a womean the other being a Jew. I on the other hand am just covered by the normal laws of the land which do not protect me as John says against hate or discrimination.