Victor Davis Hanson interviews Michael Pack, documentary filmmaker, about his new documentary with WSJ Opinion Section — a new series to look at stories that have been overlooked by the mainstream media. His new series is Get the Jew: the Crown Heights Riots Revisited named for the 1991 riots.
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The Black American/ Jewish Question: My 2 Cents
My somewhat limited but informed answer to professor Hanson’s question about the modern animus from rabble and race hustlers in black America towards the Jewish community: Jews were instrumental allies to blacks during the Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s. When the integrationist phase of the movement shifted towards Black Power with Black Nationalism and its dark brother Black Militancy, many whites were “pushed out” from the leading civil rights organization such as the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).
Many blacks developed resentment towards the “patriarchal” relationship from whites and de facto Jews in the movement. I can tell you from first hand knowledge CORE at the time made it “uncomfortable” for them to stay with ”black only” closed meetings. A sign of the times.
In contrast, during the Crown Heights Riots, Roy Innis of CORE was the only black American leader who reached out to the Hasidic community to broker peace and assure that the rioters did not represent the views of black community.
Somewhere a mythology rose that Jews exploited blacks to advance themselves. Jews instrumental in helping blacks to enter mainstream entertainment: jazz, TV, film, and now hip-hop. (Reference the film Mo’ Betta Blues)
Of course the simple answer is that race hustlers like Al Sharpton need a convenient enemy to keep their jobs and relevancy.
A question for Michael Pack:
I’m sure he is familiar with the PBS documentary series Frontline. It used to be an excellent source of disinterested investigative journalism, producing such memorable episodes as the one about Commander Robert E. Stumph and the Navy Tailhook scandal back in 1990s. However, in recent years it has become less empirical and much more ideological.
What does Mr. Pack think of the Frontline series and does he agree with my assessment?
BTW, looking forward to seeing his documentary of the Crown Heights riots.
There is an interesting back story here. Yankel Rosenbaum died in the emergency room of internal bleeding because a knife wound was undetected. The inference was that he did not get proper treatment. But Yankel had a brother Norman. Norman was a tax attorney in Australia and a formidable character in his own right. He began a quest for justice that lasted for almost 30 years. He commuted between New York and Australia putting his own life and practice on hold and leaving his young family for long periods. He became a thorn in the side of the authorities and a well known figure in the Jewish community in Brooklyn. Eventually he shamed the DA into laying criminal charges against Limrick Nelson. Nelson was acquitted but was later convicted of civil rights violations. Through an intermediary Norman met and became friendly with the father of Gavin Cato, the boy killed in the accident. Norman died in 2020 at the young age of 63. You would have to say his quest took a massive toll.