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Der Shoteh, Der Naar Friedlander with a skunk on his head! |
Remember, when I Posted that the Shoiteh and tuches lekker, Friedlander, published an Op-Ed in various frum publications backing "cryin'" Schumer?
Well, Norman Rosenbaum, whose brother Yaakov was brutally murdered on the streets of Crown Heights, wrote a response in a column in the Five Towns Times
Don’t Justify The Unjustifiable Senator Schumer
By Norman Rosenbaum and Isaac Abraham
The recent public condemnation of Senator Schumer for refusing to write a letter in support of efforts to have Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin released from jail has certainly drawn some weird responses from those blindly loyal to the senator.
Quick to quote the expression of “Those who know, don’t speak, and those who speak don’t know,” Mr. Friedlander unashamedly follows up with an open admission that he is not privy to inside information on this issue and that he is just surmising what must have occurred (between Senator Schumer and Congresswoman Pelosi) based on his understanding of the political process.
Mr. Friedlander accuses those critical of Senator Schumer of shooting themselves in the foot, political immaturity if not political suicide, and failing to recognize the real power and influence of the senator. Mr. Friedlander’s support of the senator borders on hysteria, with Schumer critics targeted for wanting to convince the senator that he is not a friend of the Jewish community.
Not true!
Schumer’s conduct was truly and fundamentally inconsistent with that of many of his Senate and Congressional colleagues (Democrats and Republicans alike), former senior law-enforcement officials, former judges, and eminent practicing attorneys. Senator Schumer was wrong and he must be made aware—unambiguously and unequivocally, but respectfully—of how his conduct is viewed.
Nobody is looking to turn him into an enemy, but a repeat performance is also unacceptable. To suggest, as Mr. Friedlander does, that Senator Schumer would have had prior notice and would have tacitly approved of Ms. Pelosi’s written support for Rubashkin’s release only exacerbates the enormity of Schumer’s failure to do likewise. What did the senator not appreciate—the injustice, the inhumanity, or the corruption that beset the justice system throughout?
The strength of any friendship (political included) is truly measured by the ability of friends to be open and honest with one another, particularly when they do not agree. Intellectual honesty must reign supreme; otherwise, the polluted swamp will only ever continue to deteriorate. Silence, appeasement, and condoning of the unacceptable conduct of politicians are antiquated and obsolete options when advancing the best interests of a community.
The most eerie aspect of the position of Senator Schumer in regard to Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin is that we have seen it all before. When the family of Yankel Rosenbaum, murdered in the 1991 Crown Heights pogrom, was pursuing U.S. Justice Department intervention, then-congressman Schumer was also conspicuously silent. At the forefront of the pursuit for justice were Senator Alphonse D’Amato and Mayor Rudy Giuliani, wholeheartedly supported in their initiatives by then Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, Senate Minority leader Bob Dole, and New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. The support they garnered included all of the Senate (Democrats and Republicans) and many Congressmen.
One can only wonder why Senator Schumer has managed to amass a record of failing to support the pursuit of justice over a period of 25 years; could it possibly be because he does not consider such a principle politically expedient?
Mr. Friedlander will remind you of Senator Schumer’s opposition to President Obama’s Iran nuclear deal. You remember that is the deal another friend of Friedlander’s, Congressman Jerry Nadler, supported.
It would be most interesting to hear Friedlander’s justification of the opposing positions of his two good friends in that instance.