The Murder of a Rabbi in North Miami Being Handled CAIRfully

Orthodox Rabbi Joseph Raskin was shot dead in North Miami Saturday morning while walking to synagogue by two young assailants who escaped on motorbikes or motorcycles in a crime that one would not be surprised by if it occurred in Paris.

Days earlier, two cars outside a house in Miami Beach were smeared with eggs and cream cheese, spelling out the words “Hamas” and “Jew.” Yet the local police—plus the regional ADL—are treating it as “a robbery that went badly” without explaining why.

What the hell is going on here? And does the non-explanation explanation pass the gag test?

I suggest this exercise: imagine an imam murdered on his way to a mosque in a neighborhood with reported anti-Muslim incidents. My conclusion: The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) would be raising the alarm about an epidemic of lethal “Islamophobia.” (Contrary to the politically correct line, anti-Muslim incidents are a fraction of anti-Jewish hate crimes in the U.S.) And Eric Holder’s Justice Department would already be unleashing its civil rights division on North Miami.

Even if it does turn out to be a robbery-gone-wrong, I won’t be convinced that it would not be treated quite differently by both local and federal law enforcement if the word “Muslim” was substituted for “Jew.”

The benefit of the doubt is appropriate when defendants are tried in criminal court. The point is fast disappearing when the Jewish community should give that benefit automatically to local and federal law enforcement.