1991 ⟶ Aftermath of Crown Heights Riot
In its wake, several Jews were seriously injured; one Orthod...
Year
1991
💔 Aftermath of Crown Heights Riot
In its wake, several Jews were seriously injured; one Orthodox Jewish man was killed; and a non-Jewish man, apparently mistaken by rioters for a Jew, was killed by a group of black men. The riots were a major issue in the 1993 mayoral race, contributing to the defeat of Mayor David Dinkins, an African American, who was blamed for an ineffective police response. Ultimately, black and Jewish leaders developed an outreach program between their communities to help calm and possibly improve racial relations in Crown Heights over the next decade.⟶
AntisemitismCrown HeightsRace RiotsBlack-Jewish RelationsPolitical Impact
United States📖 Publication of 'The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews'
The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews, published in 1991, is a book that asserts that Jews dominated the Atlantic slave trade. The book has been labeled an Antisemitic canard by historians including Saul S. Friedman, who writes that Jews had a minimal role in New World slave trade. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., head of the department of Afro-American studies at Harvard University, called the book "the Bible of new anti-Semitism" and added that "the book massively misinterprets the historical record, largely through a process of cunningly selective quotations of often reputable sources".⟶
AntisemitismSlave TradeBlack-Jewish RelationsCanardHistorical Revisionism
United States📚 Austen's Criticism of 'The Secret Relationship' Focuses on Selective Citation
Historian Ralph A. Austen criticized the book, saying that the "distortions are produced almost entirely by selective citation rather than explicit falsehood.... more frequently there are innuendos imbedded in the accounts of Jewish involvement in the slave trade," and "hile we should not ignore the anti-Semitism of The Secret Relationship..., we must recognize the legitimacy of the stated aim of examining fully and directly even the most uncomfortable elements in our common past." Austen acknowledges that the book was the first book on the subject aimed at a non-scholarly audience.⟶
AntisemitismSlave TradeHistorical DistortionBlack-Jewish RelationsAcademic Debate
United States🏛️ American Historical Association Condemns Disproportionate Role Claim
In 1995, the American Historical Association (AHA) issued a statement condemning "any statement alleging that Jews played a disproportionate role in the Atlantic slave trade."⟶
AntisemitismSlave TradeAmerican Historical AssociationHistorical AccuracyAcademic Standards
United States🗣️ ADL Statement on 'The Secret Relationship' - Volume Two
The Anti-Defamation League states that Volume Two of The Secret Relationship blames Jews for "promoting a myth of black racial inferiority and makes a range of conspiratorial accusations about Jewish involvement in the slave trade and in the cotton, textiles, and banking industries".⟶
AntisemitismSlave TradeADLConspiracy TheoriesEconomic Involvement
United States🔥 Crown Heights Riot Erupts
The Crown Heights riot was a three-day racial riot that occurred from 19–21 August 1991 in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York City. It turned black residents and Orthodox Jewish residents against each other, causing deteriorated racial relations. The riots began on 19 August 1991, after two children of Guyanese immigrants were unintentionally struck by an automobile in the motorcade of Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the leader of a Jewish religious sect. One child died and the second was severely injured. This event was said to cause tensions between Jewish and black residents to erupt.⟶
AntisemitismRace RiotsCrown HeightsBlack-Jewish RelationsReligious Conflict
United States