Optics Matter

Fallout from the Boston-area pro-Israel rally last week – in which a “genocide” chanting heckler charged across the street and violently threw himself on one of the participants and was in turn shot by someone in attendance – raises several important questions.

Why was the alleged shooter immediately arrested while the heckler-turned-assailant was painted as the victim and not charged until the story got out and public pressure mounted?

Why did the charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon lodged against the alleged shooter the very next day not require further investigation? Is the threat posed by pro-terrorist, anti-Israel “protestors” not clear enough at this point to warrant more considered response by law enforcement agencies?

And where, for that matter, were the Newton, Mass. police? Why weren’t they the ones to step in and protect the actual victim – as well as all those in attendance? Sadly, standing up for Israel in public these days is a high-risk activity. Why did it take a civilian (reportedly an Iraq war veteran) with a gun to try to stop the attack?

We’re not arguing that the shooter, Ryan Hayes, was unquestionably justified. That’s what investigations are for. As Alan Dershowitz pointed out, this would include examining Hayes’ motives in firing his weapon. But when Jewish Americans feel increasingly threatened, optics matter – and this incident paints a troubling picture. It calls to mind the schoolyard bully who pummels his victim and then, when another kid steps in with a punch, gets the principal’s sympathy while the intervenor is suspended. That’s not just unfair – it’s a recipe for more bullying.

Law enforcement authorities – in Newtown and across the U.S. – have to do more to rein in violent antisemites.