Six boys, ranging in ages from 10 to 14, were arraigned in Children’s Court today on charges of malicious mischief in the smashing or three windows at a Brooklyn synagogue and Hebrew school early the morning of January 1.
According to the Police Department, the boys attacked the Yeshiva Mesiftah Be’er Shmuel, in the Boro Park section of Brooklyn. The arrests were made late yesterday afternoon. Accused of Juvenile delinquency, the youngsters were released today in the custody of their parents. Police said they had thrown bottles, garbage cane and stones through the Yeshiva windows “as a New Year prank.” Detectives worked through the week-end to trace the perpetrators of this synagogue desecration. According to the police, one of the boys is Jewish, but not a student at the Yeshiva.
Meanwhile, today, New York City’s Police Commissioner, Stephen P. Kennedy, issued strict orders to all police departmental commanders to see to it that all who attack or threaten houses of worship in the city “get the full measure of Justice–or mental treatment if that is what they need.”
Commissioner Kennedy issued his orders at a ceremony at police headquarters, swearing in 97 new recruits to the police force. With all of the department’s leading commanders present, Commissioner Kennedy stated.
“Today, we are faced with another disruptive influence in a democracy, I refer to threats to houses of worship. See to it that every member of the force who walks a post is alerted to this condition.
“I believe that the desecration of houses of worship of any faith is nothing more than cowardice by some individuals who seek to sow confusion and discord. I am equally certain that these acts will have the reverse effect, and will only impose upon our people the necessity of cherishing the precious heritage of freedom of worship.
“In our democracy, men and women of all faiths, I know, will join in combatting any threat to the liberty of any of us who worship in peace and freedom. They look to their police as the front line to guard all people in the exercise of their fundamental rights.
“I am equally certain that the culprit themselves represent only themselves. I believe these are isolated instances. I do not think that they represent any group or plan of action. I am sure that they are Just irresponsible individuals. However, see to it that they get the full measure of justice, or mental treatment if that is what they need.”
Commissioner Kennedy’s statement was voiced after he had received from Mayor Robert F. Wagner a request for a prompt and complete report on the spate of anti-Semitic incidents in New York. The Mayor also requested the city’s Commission on Intergroup Relations to investigate these “vicious acts” and report “as rapidly as possible.”
“The desecration of a religious institution,” stated the Mayor, “is a shameful and cowardly act. We cannot and will not permit a renascence of Hitlerism, here or anywhere else in the world. We paid too high a price to crush it.”
Dr. Frank Horne, executive of the Commission on Intergroup Relations, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency: “We have a number of people out in the field now investigating these matters. We shall report to the Mayor Just as quickly as we are able to do so.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
