A Brooklyn-based rabbi is raising concerns about a self-described revolutionary group that allegedly meets every Tuesday near his home and espouses explicitly antisemitic rhetoric, hidden as “antizionist” talk.
According to a post by Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone of Crown Heights, Brooklyn , a hate group called Crown Heights Bites Back, has been operating openly in the neighborhood. “There’s an explicitly Antisemitic group that meets near my house every Tuesday,” he wrote. “It’s called ‘crownheightsbitesback.’”
On Instagram, the group calls for both “defensive and offensive tactics,” referring to Jewish institutions in Crown Heights as “Zionist settler regimes” and accusing Jewish landlords of evictions and violence. One post reads: “Zionists out of Crown Heights and out of Palestine.”
The emergence of the group has alarmed members of the Jewish community, who see disturbing parallels to the Crown Heights riots of 1991, the deadliest antisemitic riot in modern U.S. history. Tensions at the time erupted after a tragic car accident involving the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s motorcade, leading to days of anti-Jewish violence. A Jewish man, Yankel Rosenbaum, was murdered during the attacks. The riots were later commemorated by outlets such as The Commentator for their long-lasting scars on the community.
In response to rising antisemitism, New York City recently convened the first meeting of its Mayor’s Office Task Force on Antisemitism, aimed at addressing hate in neighborhoods like Crown Heights, Williamsburg, and Borough Park. The initiative includes collaboration between the NYPD, Department of Education, and the Human Rights Commission.
Although no formal action has yet been taken against Crown Heights Bites Back, the group’s open promotion of antisemitic narratives has prompted calls for increased community vigilance. The public nature of their messaging, paired with their targeted language, raises urgent questions about when political organizing crosses into incitement and hate.
As of now, no public officials have commented on the group’s activities.
