Why Equal Application of the Law Is the Only Antidote to Rising Antisemitism
The uncomfortable truth about preferential treatment and antisemitism
If I were running an organization … One meant to stand up to real estate developers who use religion to get what they want—
Note: I’m saying “if.” If such an organization existed, it could be sued out of existence. So it should not officially exist.
You understand what I’m saying?
But if I were running one, I would make sure everyone in it knew everything there is to know about that religion—everything. In the scenario of Sullivan, Rockland, and Orange Counties, I would know the Talmud backward and forward. The Torah, too.
Lucky for all of us, Chabad.org is a great resource for all that. So is Google Translate for anything in Yiddish you want to (mostly) convert to English. It’s not perfect. It will get you about 80% of the way there, but it doesn’t catch abbreviations and idioms—so don’t quote it as if it were scripture. Don’t quote anything any generative AI program gives you as scripture. Like a Wikipedia entry, you gotta double check everything what it gives you at least twice.
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You know why I’d learn all that?
Because the moment someone sued my municipality, alleging discrimination, I would provide the municipality with a packet containing specific citations from the Halakha to justify its decision in Talmudic terms.
What would “Schlomo” do then—take the claim to rabbinic court? He’d lose. His entire case is based on getting in front of a judge who may have a “special” relationship with the community—like disgraced Clarkstown Justice Scott Ugell, who is slumming it as South Blooming Grove’s village mayor and barely attending meetings while doing so.
Or his case would be filed hoping to get Attorney General Letitia James’s attention, so she could send a statement to the press and a letter to the municipality—in that order—conveying her concern about antisemitic discrimination by these mean old villages. Meanwhile, she has nothing to say about the fucking helicopter or the stolen election.
That would be the first thing I would do.
You learn all sorts of interesting things when you study my people’s law—for example, the prohibition on making animals suffer. If you have pets, you can’t eat before your pets have. Another example would include protecting the endangered timber rattlesnake that lives in Southern Orange County. Which is currently being exterminated in Blooming Grove by a fictitious organization that promised the DEC it would address the “snake problem.” It goes by the Village of South Blooming Grove United Jewish Community Emergency Response Division.
That organization does not exist. The DEC says this is fine. I’m not kidding. Go read our archives.
My point is this: Between Jeffrey Epstein, Benjamin Netanyahu, Chuck Schumer, Mark Zuckerberg, and Stephen Miller, plenty of our fellow members of the Jewish community are behaving very badly, very publicly.
So the days of shrugging and saying, “It’s antisemitism,” when questioning the Satmar—or Israel—are over. That shit doesn’t fly anymore.
Like I’ve said many, many, many times now: Either the law applies to all of us, or it applies to none of us. You can’t have it both ways, and if you don’t know why, I’ll say take a look at the current state of America. That’s what happens when the law is not applied equally to everyone.
I believe that—outside of Nazi times—it’s never been more dangerous to be Jewish in America than it is right now.
And we have to have this conversation about how much of that anger, hate, and resentment—especially in the Hudson Valley—traces back to New York State government’s failure to act when confronting our Haredi brothers and sisters.
By granting preferential treatment—openly demonstrating that America is an oligarchy in which wealthy real estate developers, including those who identify with Satmar, get whatever they want—you create antisemitism.
If groups like Stand-up to Jewish Hate, which are funded by Trump billionaire pal and New England Patriots owner, Robert Kraft, were legit, they’d be advocating for this preferential treatment to stop for this exact reason. The Anti-Defamation League would be too. But in the case of the ADL, they’ve known about the situation in South Blooming Grove for two years now and have refused to intervene. Or speak out on the schande that is criminally restricting the right to vote of non-Jews in the community, who make up the majority of the residents..
The American people who did show up to vote in 2024—millions stayed home—did so based in part on vibes. Their way of life was getting worse, the Democrats only offered them half-measures, the Republican is saying he’s going to burn it down. When you consider how narrow the margin of victory was in the 2024 presidential election, you could argue that people voting based on vibes made the difference.
So, if you don’t think there are some negative vibes out there right now about me and my fellow Jews, brother, you are mistaken.
And if you are one of my fellow tribe members reading this, that preferential treatment creates a major threat to your health, safety, and well-being, too.
And that’s just locally. We’re not even going to get into the situation in Iran—where it won’t truly come to an end as long as Israel believes it can “get away with murder.” That means high gas prices and possible energy shortages for Americans. It means global instability for everyone else.
So, if I—BJ Mendelson—were to hypothetically teach you how to stand up to wealthy real estate developers who use religion as a weapon, the first thing I would tell you is to know everything there is to know about the Talmud, the Torah, and Jewish law. You will find that the fundamental tenet of Judaism is the preservation of all life. You will also find an admonishment stating that the law of the land is the law, meaning no exceptions should be granted to anyone, from any religion.
By indiscriminately polluting the environment to build housing—while simultaneously flouting federal housing discrimination laws by only selling to members of the community—you are in direct violation of these laws.
I don’t know if you’re paying attention to the heat wave in the United Kingdom, but you should be. This is a preview of what’s coming our way.
We are in a climate emergency, one that will only get worse. Massive housing developments approved without meaningful environmental planning and remediation plans are not only a disaster waiting to happen for the Haredi community; they are a disaster we all will have to pay for later.
Not that I’m going to teach you how to resist … I’m just speaking as a concerned member of the Jewish community. What you do with the information, who’s to say?