Inside the covert Jewish 'police force' roaming America's streets - as string of scandals spark cover-up claims

American streets have turned into terror for Jews over the last few months, with hate crimes and violent pro-Palestine protests sparking fear after the October 7 attacks.

But communities have a little-known covert weapon that helps combat the most serious threats - and means most can sleep soundly at night.

Those living in 'Haredi' - ultra-orthodox communities across the country - deploy teams of police-force style volunteers called Shomrim (which means 'guards' in Hebrew) to keep an eye out.

The group, which has close ties to the NYPD, is a private organization that aims to curb various crimes including burglary, vandalism, assault and anti-Semitic attacks.

Yet they are not without scandal themselves, with their ties to the police sometimes strained due to call times and reluctance to pass on information on Jewish suspects.

Shomrim have been accused of withholding information on suspected Jewish criminals, allegedly to comply with the Torah (bible) prohibition against informing on fellow Jews. 

This stance has sparked outrage, particularly in cases involving child molesters, where Shomrim's reluctance to share information with police has been slammed.

In one case, the perpetrator of a heinous underage rape in Brooklyn was one of the Shomrim's very own. 

The scandal involved Jacob Daskal, founder of the Borough Park Shomrim Society, who was sentenced to 17 years in prison for sexually abusing a teenage girl who had moved in with him and his wife to escape a troubled family situation.

Daskal, 64, subjected her to 'nightly rape sessions,' according to a statement written by the 15-year-old victim and read aloud in court by a prosecutor at the time. 

In October 2023, Daskal begged for forgiveness, expressing his 'overwhelming regret' for his actions while dozens of his supporters, including eight of his adult children, sat weeping and praying in the packed courtroom after he pleaded guilty to the charges.

The teenager initially looked up to Daskal as a 'savior and father figure,' the statement said, adding that he violated that trust by convincing her that sex was in her 'best interest.'

When she told a friend, Daskal threatened her, according to prosecutors, repeatedly mentioning that he 'had police protection and was a 'big' guy in the Jewish community.' 

At one point, he asked her to sign a letter affirming that the sexual abuse was 'therapy,' prosecutors alleged.

At the time of the sexual abuse, Daskal led the Borough Park Shomrim.

The community's quiet response and reluctance to fully acknowledge the crime was heavily criticized. 

Before he was charged, Daskal spoke with the New York Times in 2016, agreeing to discuss the criticism the organization faces - where he dismissed the recent controversies as the work of a few 'bad apples.' 

He said that those bad seeds should not tarnish the majority of the 'upstanding volunteers' who 'regularly break away from jobs or family dinners to assist.' 

In addition to the Daskal scandal, the Shomrim have been criticized by the NYPD for not always notifying police promptly during emergencies. 

The Shomrim were the first to respond when eight-year-old Leiby Kletzky went missing in Brooklyn's ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Borough Park in 2011. 

When her son went missing, Leiby's mother's first line of defense was a call to the Shomrim, not NYPD. 

NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said despite wanting the NYPD to have been notified sooner, it was unlikely to have made a difference. 

'In this particular case, I don't see anything that could have been done with a quicker notification,' Kelly said at the time.

Following the Shomrim's investigation, 35-year-old Levi Aron was charged with killing Kletzky and chopping him up into several pieces after police located Aron with Kletzky's feet in his freezer and the rest of his remain in a suitcase. He'd later plead guilty to the murder.

However, some view the Shomrim's involvement in the justice system integral, especially with a rise in violence against Jews in America - and more specifically, New York. 

As of April 2024, 96 such hate incidents have been reported across the Big Apple - a stark rise from the 66 that were reported during the same time period last year, according to the police department statistics.

Attacks against Jewish people are the most common hate-crime in New York, according to city statistics. 

Just last month, two Orthodox Jewish children were brutally beaten by a young man on a Brooklyn sidewalk in an attack captured on video.

The boys, aged 11 and 13, were playing on the sidewalk in Williamsburg when a man got off a Citi Bike and attacked them. Horrific video shows the grown man kicking and stomping on one of the boys. 

And on June 11, the Crown Heights Shomrim released a wanted poster for a woman who allegedly assaulted a Jewish woman in Brooklyn on June 10. 

Renowned author Rabbi Shmuley Boteach explained that many Jewish orthodox community members will turn first to the Shomrim in times of trouble.

'It's not reliant on the police. It's reliant on people you know,' he told CBS News at the time. 'It's a feeling of intimacy when comes to the community's protection.'

The Shomrim have been effective in reducing crime and aiding local communities. They have assisted in apprehending suspects, raising awareness about anti-Semitic incidents, and providing support during emergencies. 

Although a Jewish founded volunteer organization, the Shomrim are dedicated to protecting any person in their communities faced with danger. 

In May, a non-Jewish girl was brutally beaten and robbed on Kingston Ave in broad daylight in front of multiple witnesses. Neighbors called Crown Heights Shomrim, who arrived and help catch the perpetrators. 

Allan Nadler, director of the Jewish studies program at Drew University, moved to New York shortly before the 1991 riots and recalled Jews in Crown Heights feeling unprotected at the time. 

'I remember day after day the headlines in the Times and the Post were that Jews were hiding in their homes, Jewish businesses and Jewish homes were marked with mezuzas and were getting rocks thrown at them, Jews were getting attacked in the street,' Nadler told New York City News Service in 2015. 

'The Shomrim societies predated this, and the Crown Heights riots were the apogee. It was the horrible climax but it's a climax to decades of Jews being afraid to walk the streets of their own community.'

There are currently about 50 members in the Crown Heights Shomrim.

'When you call 911, it can take [the police] four, five, six minutes to arrive. When you call the Shomrim hotline, and there happens to be a Shomrim member living on that block, or working in a store a block away, he gets that same description on his radio,' he said. 

'He has an eyeball on this bad guy, or criminal, so now when the police arrive, we're able to tell them, the guy you're looking for is two blocks away.'  

These groups are meant to maintain 24-hour hotlines and collaborate with local police, though the degree of cooperation varies. 

When receiving a call, the Shomrim attempt to locate the perpetrator and keep tabs on them until police arrive and can make an arrest.

These cases typically involve burglaries and muggings, and sometimes missing persons and hate crimes.

'We take small crimes seriously because small crimes can lead to bigger ones,' Mendy Hershkop, coordinator for the Shomrim told the outlet. 'And for that kid that bike or that scooter is worth it, it's his.'

The aim is to deter criminals and catch young offenders before they commit worse crimes. They also notify the community to alert them of nearby danger or recent incidents.

'It may deter them from becoming more brazen and doing something they'll regret for life,' he said.

Just last week, Crown Heights Shomrim helped the NYPD find two teenagers who went on a crime spree, stealing bikes and scooters, leading to one suspect's arrest, and the items returned to their owners.

Last month, after receiving multiple 'frantic calls' for an assault in Brooklyn, Shomrim Volunteers along with officers found the two suspects and placed them under arrest. 

However, despite their contributions, Shomrim has been the subject of controversy and criticism. The organization's relationship with police is nuanced. 

In major cities like Brooklyn, Baltimore, and London, Shomrim often receive emergency calls before the police, due to rapid response times and cultural familiarity.  

Police Commissioner Edward Caban has said: 'The terror attacks on October 7th changed the public safety landscape, and we're still feeling the ripple effects of that terrible day.'

According to the Anti-Defamation League, between October 7 and the end of 2023, the agency recorded 5,204 incidents - more than the incident total for the whole of 2022.