Halberstam Votes ‘No’ to Defunding NYPD

By COLlive reporter

Devorah Halberstam, an honorary NYPD Commissioner and community activist in Crown Heights, is saying no to the calls to defund the police in New York City.

In an interview with The Times of Israel, Halberstam said, “You have to ask yourself what you mean when you call for reforms. It’s not just about police. It’s about other calls for reform, too — term limits, budget, and how communities are run,” said Halberstam, who after the murder of her son, Ari Halberstam in a terror attack in 1994, became steeped in the inner workings of the justice system and an advocate for justice reform.

Halberstam, who co-founded the Jewish Children’s Museum in Crown Heights to educate people of all backgrounds about the Jewish faith, works tirelessly to build bridges between communities, lectures worldwide about anti-Semitism, and trains FBI, NYPD and police departments in other areas on counter-terrorism.

Halberstam told The Times of Israel about calls to defund or abolish police departments:

“Because my son was murdered there’s a reference point I have that many people don’t. I’ve been through the entire criminal justice system — which is definitely not perfect for anybody. I walked this path for over 20 years to get justice for my son. It’s very tedious; justice doesn’t just happen,” she said.

“I also learned there is no one band-aid fix in life. People can’t be shortsighted; you need to look at the long term. Most importantly, people need to ask themselves what they are prepared to give up and what they aren’t prepared to give up. That is a personal question and no one community owns it.

So you have to ask yourself what you mean when you call for reforms. It’s not just about police. It’s about other calls for reform, too — term limits, budget, and how communities are run.”