Applause for the Shomrim in Borough Park
After the tragedy of Leibby Kletzky, people are looking for answers or someone to blame. Yet, the men in Borough Park who form the Shomrim patrol, a volunteer civilian patrol should receive credit for the extensive search they did for Liebby. Shomrim is the Hebrew word for ‘guardian.’ The Shomrim in Borough Park are an exceptional group of people who really tried to take care of the community. On Tuesday night when we went out to look for Liebby, they had their neighborhood covered with hundreds of men.
On July 11th, when Leibby did not meet his mother, Este Kletsky went to the Shomrim patrol for help at 6:14 pm. The Shomrin called for backup, yet from what I read they didn’t call the police. The Shomrim have been known to respond faster than the police so people in this area contact them first when an emergency happens. Nachman Kletsky called the police around 8:30 pm. The Kletzky’s may have believed that the Shomrin called the police earlier. Some people are upset because the police weren’t contacted until hours later. Critics believe that a different outcome might have happened if the police were contacted right away by the Shomrin. Yet, Police Commissioner, Ray Kelly said a timely report would not have changed the outcome of this situation. For many years their system worked and this tight knit Brooklyn community was pretty safe. Now that they experienced a 9/11 type catastrophe, the Shomrin and community will need to establish a better emergency protocol.
Some say the men that are part of the Shomrin will not change and the people here won’t change. Of course they will, they are smart people and will do whatever they need to do to protect their families. The rabbis will need to change as well because information needs to be shared fast.
Yet, this situation really isn’t about religion – it’s about children and keeping all children safe. The Shomrim apparently have a binder with the names and information of about 15 men who are suspected molesters or haven’t acted correctly in the past. This information is not being shared with the police because the rabbis have asked the people to go to the shomrin and the shomrim is suppose to handle it. Some rabbis try to deal with child molesters in the community (by talking with the suspects and warning children to stay away from them), rather than with the police. I wish they would share it, but I understand as their world is so much different than ours.
Did the Shomrim know about Levi Aron before this situation? Some say that Levi Aron was reported to the Shomrim when he tried to have an 11 year old boy get into his car. Yet, the Shomrim deny knowing about Levi Aron and said he was not in their binder.
Incidently, I lived in Borough Park for over 10 years and I never heard of or saw the Shomrim. And although I never saw them, that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. While I was in Borough Park there were no robberies and the neighborhood was very safe.
Hugs,
marlene
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