Rare Sighting of Attorney General in Boro Park

That drought came to an end last Tuesday morning, when Attorney General William Barr jumped out of his car just blocks away from where his predecessor appeared five decades ago. He came to a meeting at the Boro Park Jewish Community Council bearing a bouquet full of good news for the Jewish community.

For one, Barr’s presence in the Jewish stronghold projected a strong message of solidarity with New York Jews facing a rising tide of hate. Second, he said he will be looking carefully at attempts by the New York state education department to place onerous burdens on the yeshivah system. He also issued a directive to all US Attorney’s offices to “reinvigorate their relationship and outreach to Jewish communities.”

The issue that received the most attention was his announcement that the Justice Department will now view the prosecution of anti-Semitic acts as serving the “public interest” of the United States. This means the US Attorney General’s office can choose to prosecute acts of anti-Semitism if it finds sufficient grounds. Federal charges may or may not be filed in addition to state charges.

According to Yitzchok (Steven) Yurowitz, a criminal defense attorney with the Newman and Greenberg law firm, federal charges are harder to beat than state ones.