And now it has come to this: axe-throwing practice.
The antisemitic shooting in Jersey City, NJ, last week has American Jews even more on red alert.
By: David Avrushmi
The attack was carried out by a derange couple at a Jersey City kosher market in what law enforcement representatives would label an act of domestic terrorism. In its wake, four people were dead and police remain in shock. As the New York Times recounted, “Scores of law enforcement officers engaged in a harrowing firefight with the couple that turned the neighborhood into a combat zone. The assailants — David N. Anderson, 47, and Francine Graham, 50 — were both killed, leaving their relatives, friends and authorities trying to understand what set them off. The two had been dating for a couple of years and seemed to have recently begun a transient lifestyle.”
Now, Jews there and around the country are scrambling to figure out the best way to prepare for the worst. As the New York Post recently reported, Rabbi Gary Moskowitz, a one-time officer in the New York City Police Department, is putting on an axe-throwing “counter-terrorism” class in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
“The situation in Jersey City changed everything. In a few lessons and with practice, this is the quickest way for Jewish people to have a chance to mitigate terror and murder. At least they’ll have a fighting chance,” martial arts expert Moskowitz told The Post. “Civilians need training. No one can help you but yourself — you need zero response time.”
Before their rampage, the deranged couple came across Jersey City Detective Joseph Seals at a nearby cemetery. According to the New York Daily News, Seals “was investigating the murder of a livery driver in Bayonne, N.J., on Dec. 7 — a crime cops now believe the couple committed. Seals was gunned down in cold blood. Anderson and Graham left him to die, and headed for the kosher market. They then tried to kill many more cops while making their final stand in the supermarket, blasting away with an arsenal that included an AR-15-style assault rifle and a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun bought by Graham last year, authorities said. The domestic terrorist duo died in the firefight. Officials found a “rambling” manifesto and a live pipe bomb in the van.”
Police have arrested a man from Monmouth County who may be linked to the suspects in the Jersey City shootout, according to ABC News. “Ahmed Hady, 35, of Keyport was found in possession of 10 illegal guns and 400 rounds of ammunition. Hady, the son of a pawn shop owner, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. After the shootout, a note was found in the male shooter’s pocket containing a telephone number and a Keyport address, according to authorities.”
