In Never Again: The Rape and Pogrom of Crown Heights, Netflix presents one of its most searing historical documentaries to date — an unflinching examination of the 1991 Crown Heights riot, a moment of racial and religious violence that has long been buried beneath euphemism and silence. Through rare archival footage, survivor testimony, and forensic reporting, the film revisits how a tragic accident became the spark for what historians now call the worst anti-Semitic violence in modern American history. With disturbing echoes of past pogroms, Never Again demands that viewers confront what happened — and why it still matters.
In a recent conversation hosted by [Platform/Organization], journalist Elliot Kaufman and filmmaker Michael Pack discussed the making of the documentary, the historical record it seeks to correct, and the disturbing relevance the Crown Heights events still hold today.
“This wasn’t just a riot—it was a pogrom,” said Pack, who directed the film. “It was targeted anti-Jewish violence, and we’ve spent 30 years pretending otherwise.”
A Pogrom in Brooklyn
The documentary opens with grainy footage from the night of August 20, 1991. The streets of Crown Heights—home to a tense, uneasy coexistence between the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic Jewish community and their Caribbean-American neighbors—are in turmoil. Earlier that evening, a tragic accident occurred: a car from a Jewish motorcade lost control and fatally struck 7-year-old Gavin Cato, a Black child playing on the sidewalk.
What followed was a wave of rage, misinformation, and scapegoating that erupted into three days of violence. In its wake lay a community shattered by racial hatred and institutional failure.
The mob, incited by rumors and stoked by activists and local leaders, turned its anger not just on the driver involved but on the entire Jewish community. The chant “Get the Jew” echoed through the streets. Rocks were thrown, stores looted, and Jewish homes attacked.
That night, 29-year-old Australian doctoral student Yankel Rosenbaum, walking near his apartment, was surrounded by a group of young men and stabbed multiple times. Despite being able to identify his attacker to police, he died hours later—largely due to medical neglect, a second layer of tragedy in a night already defined by abandonment.
The Narrative War
One of the most powerful themes in “Get the Jew” is how quickly the narrative around the riots was spun—and how resistant many were to naming the violence for what it was.
Kaufman, a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, points out that major news outlets at the time—along with many city officials—framed the unrest as a “racial conflict” rather than a hate crime or targeted pogrom.
“The phrase ‘both sides’ kept getting used, as if Jews and Blacks were equally aggressors here,” said Kaufman during the discussion. “But only one side was hunted in the streets.”
The documentary includes chilling clips of then-Mayor David Dinkins, who appeared paralyzed in the face of the crisis, and prominent activists who fanned the flames. Notably absent from most media coverage at the time was any real condemnation of the anti-Semitic nature of the violence.
The title “Get the Jew” itself comes from eyewitness accounts of what mobs shouted as they surged through Jewish neighborhoods. It’s a line meant not just to provoke, but to expose the reality that has been sanitized over time.
Justice Denied
The legal aftermath of the riots was equally disillusioning. Lemrick Nelson, the man identified by Rosenbaum before his death, was acquitted of murder charges in a 1992 state trial. The jury, which had no Jewish members, accepted the defense’s argument that the case was racially charged and that Nelson’s identification was unreliable.
Years later, a federal civil rights trial found Nelson guilty—but the damage had already been done. Rosenbaum’s family was left not only to grieve but to endure the deep injustice of seeing their son’s killer walk free for years.
The film takes viewers through courtroom footage, interviews with lawyers, and the raw, unrehearsed grief of Yankel’s brother, Norman Rosenbaum, who became a tireless advocate for justice.
Also documented is the suicide of an elderly Holocaust survivor, whose final note mentioned the terrifying echoes of 1930s Europe. For many, it felt like history repeating itself—on American soil.
Why It Matters Now
More than a historical postmortem, “Get the Jew” is a timely warning. As Kaufman and Pack both noted, anti-Semitism is on the rise across the United States, with incidents of violence, vandalism, and online hate reaching levels not seen in decades.
Pack, whose past films have examined media bias and institutional failures, said the story of Crown Heights is instructive.
“This wasn’t just about Crown Heights. This was about what happens when society refuses to protect a minority—because it’s politically inconvenient to do so.”
Kaufman adds that while much has changed since 1991, the refusal to name anti-Semitism when it comes from outside the expected quarters—especially from groups that are themselves marginalized—remains a potent moral blind spot.
“The idea that Jews can’t be victims because they’re seen as privileged has returned, in academic spaces, in activist circles,” he said. “That’s exactly what allowed this pogrom to happen.”
Reckoning With the Past
One of the most compelling aspects of the documentary is its refusal to let time erase the urgency of the events. Archival news clips are contrasted with present-day interviews and neighborhood footage, showing both how much—and how little—has changed in Crown Heights.
While some local leaders have worked toward genuine reconciliation between Black and Jewish communities, the scars of 1991 remain deep. For many in the Jewish world, especially those connected to Chabad, the riots are not distant history—they are a lived memory, passed down with pain and urgency.
As the film ends, a quiet voiceover reads the words of historian Edward Shapiro, calling the riot “the most serious anti-Semitic incident in American history.” The statement hangs in the air, unchallenged.
A Documentary That Demands Attention
In under 90 minutes, “Get the Jew: The Crown Heights Riot Revisited” does what decades of commentary, op-eds, and official reports have failed to do: it forces a confrontation with uncomfortable truths. Through testimony, footage, and unflinching storytelling, the film honors victims like Yankel Rosenbaum and demands a reckoning for those still unwilling to name what happened.
As Pack said during the discussion, “If we’re ever going to confront anti-Semitism honestly, we need to start by telling the truth. This film is one attempt to do that.”
“Get the Jew” is available now for streaming and educational screenings.
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