Affiliate News and Views

BORO PARK – Last Thursday the NYPD arrested Jacob Daskal on charges of raping a 16 year old. Besides the obviously horrendous crime, this arrest is a big deal because Daskal is the president of Boro Park  Shomrim (“Guardsâ€) – the private, Orthodox Jewish, security force that patrols Borough Park. There are other Shomrim groups that patrol Flatbush, Crown Heights and Williamsburg .  They may easily be mistaken for the NYPD, and to many in the Orthodox Jewish enclaves in Brooklyn they effectively are. Shomrim have a command centers that look like the NYPD’s, down to the slogan of Courtesy, Professionalism, Respect: Their shield could  easily be mistaken for NYPD  at a distance: Shomrim grew out of a neighborhood watch group known as the “Bakery Boys†in 1990s – young men who delivered bread at night and witnessed lots of car break-ins,  but the group has always been controversial . Daskal was a founding member, and has been an intermediary between the NYPD’s 66th Pre...

BORO PARK – Last Thursday the NYPD arrested Jacob Daskal on charges of raping a 16 year old. Besides the obviously horrendous crime, this arrest is a big deal because Daskal is the president of Boro Park  Shomrim (“Guards”) – the private, Orthodox Jewish, security force that patrols Borough Park. There are other Shomrim groups that patrol Flatbush, Crown Heights and Williamsburg .  They may easily be mistaken for the NYPD, and to many in the Orthodox Jewish enclaves in Brooklyn they effectively are. Shomrim have a command centers that look like the NYPD’s, down to the slogan of Courtesy, Professionalism, Respect: Their shield could  easily be mistaken for NYPD  at a distance: Shomrim grew out of a neighborhood watch group known as the “Bakery Boys” in 1990s – young men who delivered bread at night and witnessed lots of car break-ins,  but the group has always been controversial . Daskal was a founding member, and has been an intermediary between the NYPD’s 66th Precinct and his Boro Pa...

BORO PARK – Last Thursday the NYPD arrested Jacob Daskal on charges of raping a 16 year old. Besides the obviously horrendous crime, this arrest is a big deal because Daskal is the president of Boro Park  Shomrim (“Guards”) – the private, Orthodox Jewish, security force that patrols Borough Park. There are other Shomrim groups that patrol Flatbush, Crown Heights and Williamsburg .  They may easily be mistaken for the NYPD, and to many in the Orthodox Jewish enclaves in Brooklyn they effectively are. Shomrim have a command centers that look like the NYPD’s, down to the slogan of Courtesy, Professionalism, Respect: Their shield could  easily be mistaken for NYPD  at a distance: Shomrim grew out of a neighborhood watch group known as the “Bakery Boys” in 1990s – young men who delivered bread at night and witnessed lots of car break-ins,  but the group has always been controversial . Daskal was a founding member, and has been an intermediary between the NYPD’s 66th Precinct and his Boro Pa...