As additional
details continue to emerge about the recent hacking and defacement of Boulder
Jewish organizations’ websites, experts say the Internet is playing an increasing
role in hate crimes.
The sites of two
synagogues, Bonai Shalom and Har HaShem, as well as the website of the Boulder
Rabbinic Council, were defaced on Jan. 2 with the message, “Jews are
terrorists. Child Organ Smugglers. Fu*k the Jews! and Fu*k Israel!”
Boulder Police
and the FBI issued a joint statement last week announcing that the sites were
hacked from abroad, and that it is unlikely charges will be filed, since there
was no specific threat in the message.
Det. Chuck
Heidel of the Boulder Police told Boulder Weekly Monday that the hacking had
been traced to Pakistan. He said the same individual also hacked into several
other sites of organizations and businesses in Boulder. While messages left at
those sites were “malicious,” he says, they were not religious in nature. He
declined to say what the other messages were, and described the case as “pretty
much closed.”
Jack Levin, the
Irving and Betty Brudnick Professor of Sociology and Criminology at
Northeastern University, and Jack McDevitt, director of the Institute on Race
and Justice at Northeastern, are among the nation’s leading experts on hate
crimes. In an interview with Boulder Weekly, Levin says cyber-hate crimes are
becoming more common, and the Internet is playing an increasing role in spreading
and fortifying bigotry.
Levin explains
that the percentage of white supremacists in the country, for instance, is
quite low, but the Internet gives such groups more influence and more ability
to spread their message than their numbers would suggest. He says the
stereotypical instigator of hate crimes is a loner and socially isolated, and
connecting with other like-minded individuals through hate-group websites can
make them feel good and build camaraderie. “The Internet is an important
instrument for the spread of bigotry,” he says.
McDevitt told
Boulder Weekly that even though some believe it is best not to give lots of
publicity to hate crimes — since that may be exactly what the instigator wants,
and because it could prompt copycat crimes — he believes the opposite.
“I think it’s
much better that people hear about these incidents and the reaction to them,”
he says, explaining that instigators often see themselves as heroes — as
someone who has the guts to express publicly what others secretly believe. So
public outcry and expressions of disdain for such crimes can serve as a wake-up
call to bigots.
“That flies in
the face of what the instigators think will happen,” McDevitt says.
He adds that
publicity can also benefit the victims.
“It’s important to
publicize these events, because otherwise, the message is that no one cares,”
he says.
McDevitt
explains that groups targeted by hate crimes often wonder how many other
members of society share the instigators’ views, and if the larger community
condemns such acts, it can be reassuring to the victims.
“The best thing
for them,” he says, “is to band together and support each other, but even more
important is for the larger community to come together and say, ‘We support
you.’”
Levin agrees.
“The worst thing
you can do is ignore hate crimes that do not result in violence, because they
tend to escalate,” he says.
Rabbi Deborah
Ruth Bronstein of Har HaShem says the most striking thing about the incident
has been the support that she and the congregation have received from the
larger community.
“People have
been saying, ‘Our hearts are with you; we stand with you,’” Bronstein told
Boulder Weekly. “I think it’s important to stand as allies. That’s the best
response. … We shouldn’t be foolish, we need to take this seriously to protect
ourselves. But we really can’t add to any hatred in the world. We need to build
knowledge about each other. We have to do the opposite of spreading fear.”
She adds that
about a decade ago, she and leaders of several local Christian churches
responded to the planned visit of some controversial, hate-filled speakers on
the CU campus by forming a pact called “Common Voice.” As part of that pact,
they pledged to always speak out against hateful language instead of remaining
silent.
“Silence implies
agreement,” Bronstein says.
