Boston Jews Outraged by JCRC's Weak Support for Jewish Self Defense

JCRC Boston’s Tweet thanking the District Attorney who appeared to take sides against a pro-Israel protester and Iraq War Veteran sparked outrage and criticism from Boston Jews on Friday, leading to JCRC deleting the Tweet and posting a longer, more ambiguous, statement instead, which still faces significant criticism.

On September 13, 2024, Thursday evening, police arrived at a small pro-Israel rally near Washington and Harvard Streets in the Newtonville neighborhood, where a “scuffle ensued,” according to Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan.

“During that scuffle, the individual who had come across the street was shot by a member of the demonstrating [Pro-Israel] group,” Ryan said during a news conference just after 10:30 Thursday night.

Scott Hayes, 47, of Framingham, was arrested on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and violation of a constitutional right causing injury. He is scheduled to be arraigned in district court Friday, Ryan said. The DA added he has a license to carry a gun.

The charges itself appeared to be biased against Hayes’ right to self defense, and the enhanced charge for “violating a constitutional right” appears to be ungrounded in legal theory.

Jewish users posted criticism of the weak response from JCRC: David Litman posted: “Since you deleted the earlier Tweet, I’l'll repost my response here, too:

As a Jewish resident of Newton, this statement is outrageously pathetic. You would've done better to just say nothing at all.

Then he posted “a good contrast can be shown by comparing it to the statement put out by the ADL."

Other users called the statement “Pathetic” 

Attorney Erielle Azerrad wrote:

They deleted their tweet summarizing their lousy statement and reposted the same lukewarm dross. Shameful stuff. Masquerading as a Jewish advocacy org that doesn’t actually advocate for Jewish interests!

Joel M. Petlin stated: The motive and the role that the injured man played in the initiation of violence are extremely relevant to the Newton shooting. Any statement by a Jewish organization that ignores that fact should not be considered a legitimate representative of the Boston Jewish community.

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