Media monitoring organization angry over singling out of Hasidic rioters in 'Guardian' report.
By JONNY PAUL , JERUSALEM POST CORRESPONDENTLondon Riot 311(photo credit: REUTERS)The British Jewish community has expressed its shock over the recent rioting which has shaken the UK over the last few days.The Board of Deputies of British Jews called for unity and said on Tuesday that the community’s thoughts were with the victims.RELATED: Police prepare for the the worst as London riots continueUK: 26-year-old shot in car becomes first riot fatality'London police unprepared for mass rioting' “The Jewish community, like all right minded people, will have been shocked and appalled at the wanton destruction and criminality witnessed on our streets over the last few days,” Jon Benjamin, chief executive of the Board of Deputies. “Attacks on businesses and property are also assaults on the lives and livelihoods of decent hardworking people, trying to get by in difficult times, and the perpetrators are beneath contempt.”On Monday, the Board’s interfaith manager Philip Rosenberg spoke alongside Muslim and Christian representatives at a vigil in Tottenham, calling for unity and a concerted effort by communities to address the problems they face.
“Our thoughts are with the innocent victims whose homes and businesses have been destroyed, and with the police, fire and ambulance services as they try to restore order to our streets,” Rosenberg said.The Community Security Trust, an organization which tackles anti-Semitism and provides security for the community, said on Tuesday that there had been no reports of targeted attacks against the community or communal buildings.However it said as a precaution, security procedures should be enhanced.“The violence is, however, quite indiscriminate and could as easily affect our community as any other. The situation remains highly volatile, and there is no way of knowing at this time if it will further deteriorate,” the organization said.Among the precautions it advised the community to take included being aware of your surroundings when arriving and leaving communal buildings and on a personal level to “try to look and act confidently – look like you know where you are and where you are going” and ensure you know where your children are at all times.One Jewish-owned store in Tottenham, north London, was targeted on Sunday. Hardware store H. Glickman Ltd, a family business set up in 1932, was smashed into and ransacked.
Meanwhile media monitoring organization Comment is Free Watch (CiFW), has condemned the Guardian newspaper for a story on the riots in which it found it “pertinent” to note that some Hasidic Jews had allegedly jeered police without mentioning the ethnicity of the rioters.The paragraph in question, published in the Guardian on Monday, stated: “The make-up of the rioters was racially mixed. Most were men or boys, some apparently as young as 10….But families and other local residents, including some from Tottenham’s Hasidic Jewish community, also gathered to watch and jeer at police.”“A 1,800 Guardian report doesn’t mention the race, ethnicity, or religion of the rioters, somehow found it pertinent to note that some of those who gathered to jeer police were, allegedly, Hasidic Jews,” CiFW said on Tuesday.“So, the rioters – who have torched, ransacked and looted shops, pubs, banks and even residential properties, and have attacked journalists, police, and firefighters for the past three days – are characterized as merely “racially mixed”, yet he somehow deems it relevant to note that some of Tottenham’s Hasidic Jewish community were among those who allegedly watched and “jeered” police,” it added.
