January 5, 2020

Curtis Sliwa, founder of the crime-prevention group Guardian Angels, had kept his Rebbe Dollar close until he was shot in a taxi some 20 years ago. Today, as he was patrolling the streets of Crown Heights, he received a meaningful gift from a community activist.

By COLlive reporter

When blacks were riotings against the Jewish people of Crown Heights on August 19, 1991, the crime-prevention group Guardian Angels came to the neighborhood as police stood by during the violence and looting.

After 3 months of patrolling the streets of Crown Heights, members of the Guardian Angels were warmly welcomed at Lubavitch World Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway.

“The Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, in honor of our service, gave each Guardian Angel a blessing and a Rebbe dollar,” recalled Curtis Sliwa, founder and CEO of the Guardian Angels who today is also a radio talk show host.

A “Rebbe dollar” is closely kept by many Jews and gentiles around the world as a blessing and protection. It is typically framed and hung in a home or kept nearby in a pocket or wallet.

Sliwa, born to a Catholic family of Polish and Italian descent, kept his Rebbe Dollar very closely ever since receiving it.

But as he recently returned to Brooklyn’s Jewish neighborhood with his volunteers to provide protection against the series of anti-Semitic attacks, he revealed that he did not have the dollar any longer.

“Curtis had received one many years ago, but he had lost it when he was shot in a taxi in New York City 20 years ago,” says Crown Heights community activist Noochie Gross who met him on Sunday.

In an expression of gratitude for his service and defense of the community, Gross presented Sliwa with a Rebbe Dollar from his own possession.

“Curtis was so grateful to receive the dollar,” Gross told COLlive.com. “He was so happy to receive this gift.”

With their iconic red hats and jackets, Sliwa and the Guardian Angels have fought crime in New York City since their founding in 1979. They now resumed their patrol of Crown Heights, Williamsburg and Boro Park for what they called the inaction of Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“These attacks are taking place and the cops have not been proactive at all,” Sliwa said about the violent attacks and verbal abuses Jewish people from all ages and backgrounds. “It comes from City Hall and the mayor. He’s been just apathetic,” he said about the mayor.

“We’re a visual deterrence in our red berets and our red satin jackets,” Sliwa said. “Nobody’s going to commit an attack when we’re around and if they do commit an attack when we are around, we will physically restrain the persons responsible, make a citizen’s arrest and hold them until the police arrive.”