The 1991 riots began after a rabbinical motorcade struck two black children, sadly killing 7-year-old Gavin Cato and injuring Gavin’s young cousin. Some 3 hours after the Crown Heights riots began, early on 20th Aug 20 1991, police said Charles Price incited the crowd to riot by playing on existing tension between blacks and Jews in the poor neighbourhood, urging angry black men gathering at the accident scene to "Get the Jews!". A group of c20 young black men surrounded Yankel Rosenbaum, a University of Melbourne student who was in the USA doing research for his doctorate. Killing any Orthodox Jew would have sufficed. The rioters stabbed him four times in the back and fractured his skull by beatings. Before being taken to the hospital, Rosenbaum identified a teen (Lemrick Nelson) as his assailant in a police line-up shown to him. Sadly Rosenbaum died that night.
1991
For three days following the accident, many local African- and Caribbean-Americans, joined by more and more non-residents, continued the riots that widened New York City's racial divide. And the Crown Heights case altered city politics for the next decade.
My late mother’s cousins, Max (d2008) & Fay Rosenbaum & their son Norman, made regular appearances at court hearings in the cases against Yankel’s alleged assailants. Max was a tireless crusader for civil rights who was determined that no other person would ever be subjected to the same type of violence because of their race or ethnicity.
During the 1990s, Lemrick Nelson jnr was charged with murder as an adult; he was acquitted at trial. Nelson was acquitted of state murder charges and convicted of federal civil rights charges, a verdict that was overturned because the judge tampered with the jury’s racial makeup.
Later Nelson said he had indeed stabbed Rosenbaum and in 2003, after three trials in 12 years, the defence finally admitted Nelson stabbed the 29-year-old Australian. But they said the murder had nothing to do with the fact that the victim was Jewish, a key element needed for a conviction. Nelson was found guilty by a federal jury of violating the Australian’s civil rights. Ruling on a separate question, the jury found that the accused's actions did not result in Rosenbaum's death. Nelson was relieved to face 10 years in prison, rather than a possible life sentence.
with a photo of the late Yankel
Yankel’s brother Norman Rosenbaum, a regular visitor to New York after 1991, became an advocate for his late brother who was stabbed to death during the city’s most serious bout of racially charged unrest in decades. Within days of the murder, Norman and his parents flew to New York to represent Yankel. Even after father Max died, Norman continued fighting for justice and never gave up. From 27,000 ks away, Norman travelled to the US at least 120 times.
In the years since the riots, black and Hasidic community leaders worked hard to bridge their differences, forming groups to live, talk and learn together. In 2001, Gavin Cato’s father Carmel, and Yankel Rosenbaum’s brother met publicly and called for greater understanding and dialogue. The two grieving men forged an inspirational friendship and bonded over their shared love for the sport of cricket. “You never compare tragedies and losses of life, but when you experience a loss of this magnitude there’s a bond that is created,” Norman said in a 2016 anniversary interview. The men said their real friendship would set an example to the entire, eloquent voices for peace in the racially divided NY neighbourhood.
Carmel Cato and Norman Rosenbaum bonded
Yankel’s brother Norman Rosenbaum, a regular visitor to New York after 1991, became an advocate for his late brother who was stabbed to death during the city’s most serious bout of racially charged unrest in decades. Within days of the murder, Norman and his parents flew to New York to represent Yankel. Even after father Max died, Norman continued fighting for justice and never gave up. From 27,000 ks away, Norman travelled to the US at least 120 times.
In the years since the riots, black and Hasidic community leaders worked hard to bridge their differences, forming groups to live, talk and learn together. In 2001, Gavin Cato’s father Carmel, and Yankel Rosenbaum’s brother met publicly and called for greater understanding and dialogue. The two grieving men forged an inspirational friendship and bonded over their shared love for the sport of cricket. “You never compare tragedies and losses of life, but when you experience a loss of this magnitude there’s a bond that is created,” Norman said in a 2016 anniversary interview. The men said their real friendship would set an example to the entire, eloquent voices for peace in the racially divided NY neighbourhood.
in New York in 2002.
Photo credit: Times of Israel
Norman Rosenbaum died this Saturday in Melbourne and was buried on Sunday according to Jewish tradition, survived by his mother and four adult children. Norman was only 63. Long life, cousins!
Norman Rosenbaum died this Saturday in Melbourne and was buried on Sunday according to Jewish tradition, survived by his mother and four adult children. Norman was only 63. Long life, cousins!
18 comments:
I hope Norman got justice for his brother and achieved greater community understanding. 63 is awfully young.
Hello Hels, Savagery is savagery, which is easily exacerbated by hatemongers giving what seems to be an easy target, and apparent immunity for hatred and criminality. The only solution is to erase the "us vs. them" mentality, and that does not seem to be evaporating any time soon.
--Jim
LMK
my entire maternal family has been dedicated to community development since well before the Russian Revolution, and have made names for themselves in literature, music, education, medicine, socialist politics and academe. I was not at all surprised when father Max and brother Norman took responsibility for justice and communal peace.
Parnassus
Agreed totally... I am a pacifist in any case, and would never EVER handle a gun. But a parent or sibling of a murdered child would have to be a truly amazing person to work for closeness with "them".
I believe Gavin Cato’s father Carmel was an equally amazing person.
Hello Agnieszka,
Did you remember the Crown Height riots?
A tragic story of the evil of racial hatred. I have nothing but admiration for people who stand up to be counted and fight for the rights of others.
It is a sadly young age to age for Norman to die and I don't see any winners in the whole tale aside from the later friendship between Carmel and Norman.
Fun60
In the late 1960s I used to march in anti-Vietnam and in women's liberation protests, surrounded by thousands of other like-minded people. The atmosphere was somewhat anxious, because of the police, but I can't say that it took much bravery on the protesters' behalf.
But standing up as in individual takes enormous bravery, and runs a great risk of revenge punishment. I cannot tell you how full of admiration my entire family is of the Australian contribution to unity in Crown Heights.
Andrew
the New Yorker (2011) wrote: In businesses with mixed black and Jewish staff and clientele, the atmosphere is convivial. On school days, kids horse around outside of both the public school and the neigh¬bouring yeshiva on wide, calm streets. The riots, once very important to the strained relationship between blacks and Jews, has simply become less of an issue. Whatever the distance between them, the two communities can celebrate that their lives are led peacefully, in a shared urban space.
I hope that was and is true.
We were living in NY when Yankel was murdered. Shortly afterwards John ran in the NYC Marathon. He wore a white Tshirt on which I wrote in red marker pen לזכר ינקל רוזנבאום. I was afraid to write it in English lest John be attacked when he ran through Brooklyn. Tensions were still high then. By the time John reached Brooklyn his sweat made the red ink smudge. It looked like blood! We met Norman on at least one of his visits to NY. So sad that he died! BDE!
Margot
Many many thanks. You two were very brave back in 1991, because tensions were indeed very high. But I am sure that restoring peaceful relations within NY was so important that you were both willing to take a risk.
Yankel and Norman were MY mum's cousins. But my husband's late aunt and uncle also lived in New York back then, and they too were very anxious :(
Hels, I didn’t realise you were a relative! Sorry for your loss, but glad Norman achieved so much in his time. I did hear that the two families comforted each other.
Margot, I couldn’t quite make out that first Hebrew word at first - does it say “In memory of Yankel Rosenbaum”? That was very brave! Even if those who might object couldn’t read it - even Hebrew letters at that time would have attracted some ugly attention.
Sue
Violent hatred doesn't care for the truth... just a foreign-sounding surname or the letters on a T-shirt are enough to get the haters' hormones charging. You got the in memory expression correct, whilst BDE stands for baruch dayan emet or Blessed is the True Judge.
Crown Heights and other sites of conflict deserve peace.
I admit, I knew little of either the Crown Heights Riots or events concerning the Rosenbaum bothers but have become intrigued in reading your post, Hels, and the ensuing comments from your followers. I can only agree with the sadness, anger, outrage and helplessness felt by them all. The word tragedy hardly begins to describe such hatred and intolerance between people of different races. 1991 was a long time ago, and the fact that such incidents are still going on in the world today saddens me beyond measure. Thank you for sharing a very poignant part of your family's history.
I can remember those events quite well . I was young and just married with my first little boy and felt so sad for Fay and her loss as a mum . I didnt know of the building of a relationship between the 2 families. That is a truly wonderful thing . Its seems that those of us who are peace loving non haters need to be far more vocal in our opposition to those who foment hatreds for their own gains . When we fail to do it we end up with Trump and co. Thank you for sharing this Hels and you have a family to be very proud of .
Millie
nod... still going on today with more violence than ever :( The news said Turkish _millitary men_ pushed deeper into Syria on the third day after a cross-border offensive against Kurds. Many other _civilians_ were killed in Turkey and Syria just now, and at least 100,000 civilians lost their homes.
The difference is ... that we normally don't believe hatred and intolerance destroy civilians in our civilised countries.
mem
I can understand individuals and communities who have been oppressed protesting, in every non-violent way possible, to achieve equality. But I can NEVER understand or forgive those who foment hatreds for their own financial or ideological gains like Bolsonaro, Thump or Orban.
Even in countries that feel safe from racism and violence, we will forever need to be far more vigilant in our opposition to the haters.
A 30 year memorial event took place on 18th August 2021 in Crown Heights. This was the location where Yankel Rosenbaum was violently stabbed after being chased by a mob through the streets shouting “Kill the Jews!” It was to honour the sacrifice, to elevate the soul of Yankel, and to recite prayers in his memory. Brother Norman had flown to New York from Australia hundreds of times in his never-ending quest for justice for his brother, and was in Crown Heights on the 25th anniversary of the murder. But sadly, not the 30th.
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