OPINION: Defy the violence, go vote
The pipe bombs aimed at prominent Democrats right before a critical midterm election must not intimidate anyone from voting. This latest act of violence on American democracy — and make no mistake, that is what this is — may have been intended to stifle turnout, but we cannot allow that to happen. We have had highly contentious elections since the beginning of the republic, but it has been a long time since Americans have been physically prevented from voting or even killed for doing so. Current political vitriol is bad enough. Political terror, obviously, is wholly unacceptable.
On the heels of the pipe bombs, the assassination of eleven Shabbos worshippers must be seen in this context of political terror. To be sure, murderous attacks against the Jewish people have been waged for literally thousands of years. But in contemporary America, where hate against political opponents is routinely spewed by candidates and government officials, the Pittsburgh shootings a week before our national elections are a direct attack on our freedoms.
In 2004, the House of Representatives, by a vote of 419-2, passed a resolution announcing to the world that a presidential election will never be postponed in the event of a terrorist attack. Doing so “would demonstrate weakness … and would be interpreted as a victory for the terrorists.” Indeed, no presidential election has ever been skipped, even during war or economic depression.
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.