The Crime of Isabel Huerta
Samuel Katz2011Fiction
credit: cdedbdme
Isabel Huerta’s ninth birthday was yesterday. Today is the scariest day of her life.
On the way to school Papi pointed out all places where houses were being built and how other kids’ papis were putting bricks on the house; Papi was a construction worker, Isabel was proud of that. Papi worked just two blocks from Isabel’s school.
But now she doesn’t know where her Papi is.
She knew she should never talk to strangers, Papi told her that many times. But the stranger was a construction worker like Papi and he said he would help her find him. Isabel was not very tall, so she wasn’t able to see very well from the car that Papi’s friend was driving, she also didn’t want to lean back on the seat because she was afraid she would smush the piece of birthday cake she had in her backpack; she wanted to share it with her Papi when they got home.
Isabel is now very afraid. The man takes her to his house. It doesn’t look like her and her Papi’s street, she thinks. Maybe he will call her Papi to come pick her up, but it has been so long and she is feeling very hungry. She looks around the room, the wall has a big clock, she does not know how to read a clock but she knows that the small stick on the clock moves very slowly and when she left school it was by the four and now it is close to the eight, a lot of time must have passed since she had to meet her Papi, she figures. She is a smart girl. She starts to think that the man is not really Papi’s friend and that he is a bad man. Isabel wants to go home.
There is also a window in the room, Isabel is not strong enough to open it, she knows her Papi could have. She stares out of the window and cries. The man bangs on the door and tells her to be quiet, so she cries quietly and looks at the street to see if her Papi is coming to look for her. She doesn’t see him, she sees a few police cars pass by, maybe they are looking for her.
She sees a boy her age sitting behind a closed window in the house across from her. He has glasses and he is crying too. He looks a little bit like Bob the Builder. She always tells boys at school that her Daddy is a real Bob the Builder. She wants to talk to that boy, is he crying because his Papi’s friend also took him away?
The man comes into the room and pulls Isabel away from the window. He smiles to her a few times and holds her hands very tightly, he smells funny. Isabel doesn’t know what is going on, she keeps asking him where her Papi is, and he says her Papi will come soon. He pushes her around, that makes her cry very quietly because she is afraid of the man that for sure isn’t Papi’s friend. She wants to talk to the boy in the other house, maybe his man did that too and together they can run away. But the man doesn’t stop, she knows older people shouldn’t do these things to little kids, she thinks she is going to scream, then she hears someone knocking.
The man stops holding Isabel, tells her to be quiet and closes the door of the room behind him before opening the door. She hears a man at the door saying, “We are looking for a lost nine-year-old.” Isabel is afraid to talk, but she knows she is nine now! Her Papi sent people looking for her! She is going home and they are going to finish the birthday cake together!
“We are looking for a nine-year-old boy named Leiby, have you seen him?”
A boy?! thinks Isabel, I’m a girl and my name is Isabel, she starts to cry, they aren’t looking for her. “He was wearing a blue backpack,” says the man at the door. She has a pink backpack, she begins to cry loudly, she wants her Papi and she wants to run away from this man. The man says to the people at the door, “I haven’t seen him, I have my own kids to go to, gotta run,” and she hears him close the door.
Isabel continues to cry. She doesn’t see the boy at the window anymore, it is getting dark outside. She sees many papis, who she knows are Jewish (her Papi told her that their abuelitos came to America just like Isabel’s), walking around the streets and knocking on many houses. She even hears a car announcing “Leiby, Leiby.” She hears a helicopter pass by, maybe the helicopter has her Papi inside looking for her. She continues to cry and her tummy feels funny. She hears the man in the other room move heavy things, she is afraid.
She is hungry, she takes out her piece of birthday cake, she feels bad eating before her Papi finds her, but she is very, very hungry. She decides to eat only half. She looks for the boy at the window, he isn’t there. “Papi,” she says. “All these other papis will help you find me also. And you will have the other half of the cake.”
Isabel sits on the floor in front of the window slowly eating her cake.
Her Papi goes to the police to look for his Isabel, they tell him to file a report and they stash it away in a pile and then ask him, for the hundredth time, if he saw a boy, Leiby, near his construction site. Her Papi sits alone in the police station as a clerk takes all the information he has and tells him to wait twenty four hours according to police protocol.
Isabel checks again if the boy is by the window, she can’t see if he is there, it is dark already. She wants to be his friend and she is sure he would want to be hers, and they would play and forget about the bad people. She decides to save a piece of her cake for him too. “When we are both free,” she says to the empty room, “we will be friends and our papis will be friends, and I will give you a piece of my cake, Leiby, and you will love it.”
33 Responses
The horrible irony is that if Lieby’s parents would have done exactly what Isabel’s father did, Lieby would probably still be alive.
> “a clerk takes all the information he has and tells him to wait twenty four hours according to police protocol.”
I know this is only tangential but this is most definitely not police protocol when it comes to a missing child.
This is bullshit and written from a place of anger and resentment. Sorry, no sympathy or respect from me, Sammy.
Writing worthy of Der Stuhrmer. Peace and love.
Just posted this comment on FB in response to some comments there about this piece’s “skewed” perspective. Perhaps it’s appropriate to re-post here:
E. and B. — Skewed, perhaps, but a perspective nonetheless. Keep in mind, this is a fiction piece, not an argumentative one. It raises issues for discussion, and the fact that it gets heated responses showed that it did its job. In this case, its didactic quality might be right on the nose, but that doesn’t make the discussion less worthy.
Personally, I disagree with the writer somewhat. (As I do with many of the pieces I publish, incidentally.) Because I’m bothered not so much by the fact that Chasidim care more for kin and clan than by the fact that they care for others *NOT AT ALL*. (Or something very close to it.) The outpouring of grief that the world showed for the Kletzky story is *exactly* the kind of grief the frum world can’t spare for those who are unlike them.
If you disagree, then think about one aspect. The news stories about Leiby were filled all over the Internet with thousands and thousands of comments saying, “Bless your soul, little angel,” and “Little Leiby, rest in peace.” Now imagine a tragedy with a non-Jewish shaygetz’l named, say, Justin, and tell me how many Chasidim will say, “Rest in peace, little angel.” Where I come from, the sentiment would be, “Kein yirbi.”
That, to me, is worthy of unequivocal condemnation. And this story indirectly addresses that.
This is a powerful and brave piece for taking on such a difficult subject.
One of the main points I see highlighted here, is that members of the ultra-Orthodox community are very fortunate in that, in certain cases of need*, their entire community’s significant resources may be made available to help them. It’s a precious and enticing benefit of membership.
For people who have left that world, this piece highlights the bittersweet reality of what we have forgone for our freedom.
*missing children qualify, raped children do not.
Disgusting.
The fact that there were thousands of people looking for leiby is something to be praised about our people, not something to be sorry for. Yes, the reaction was much greater, but that is because Jew care for each other, even somebody they don’t know, and “Isabel” was from a different religion where each person only cares about whether or not his beer will still be cold when he gets back from taking a piss.
Shulem,
How many Germans blessed the souls of our little angels during the Nazi era? Arguably, it is these experiences so indelibly etched in our collective memory that has led to sentiments such as those you present. And as a former insider you well know that if a child is in danger,he would do well to find himself in a frum community regardless of ethnicity.
Leah,
I find your little qualifier somewhat simplistic and immature. The problem of molestation and the lack of serious action against it is the product of a community’s mistrust of outsiders, a primitive understanding of mental illness, and other complex sociological issues.
I’m nearly as critical of the chasidic community as many others here, and I often agree with the sentiments expressed here. This piece, however, completely fails to address any community shortcoming, and, worse, actually tries to make an evil of something good. I don’t agree with Mr. Deen that this story even indirectly addresses the real problem of the community not giving a damn about others (people who pride themselves on their intelligence should know whether they live among eighteenth century European pogromists or twenty-first century citizens of the Medinah shel Chessed, which took in their grandparents and granted them equal rights-sorry, Yakum Purkan). I thought that all of Samuel Katz’s pieces until this one were first rate, so I’m especially disappointed here. Even the most ardent believers in universal and equal love and concern will have to admit that everyone can’t drop everything and spend hours searching for every missing child. Inevitably we all favor our family, friends community and country, and that’s often a good thing.
JD,
First off, I didn’t intend to justify it. I merely intended to explain its roots, and point out that it isn’t simply “don’t give a damn “.
And as someone who prides him/herself on his intelligence (do you?) Why are you setting the German Medina shel chesed back two centuries?
YK-
I’m glad you aren’t justifying it. The “How many Germans” line made it look as if you were.
“Why are you setting the German Medina shel chesed back two centuries?”
What point are you trying to make? Is it more intelligent to confuse Americans with Germans than with eighteenth century pogromists?
While we’re at it-
“The problem of molestation and the lack of serious action against it is the product of a community’s mistrust of outsiders, a primitive understanding of mental illness, and other complex sociological issues.”
Probably. But how is this a defense against Leah’s point? We can come up with reasons all day (the Germans were paranoid about the Thirty Years’ War, were screwed at Versailles, were screwed because they lacked a unified state for so long), but in the end, if such a thing as morality exists, we have to condemn the inexcusable.
JD
It wasn’t a defense against Leah’s point, it was a critique of it. And your comment about my confusion misses the point so obviously.
“It wasn’t a defense against Leah’s point, it was a critique of it.”
Oh. Well, then.
Yekum Purkan: “Arguably, it is these experiences so indelibly etched in our collective memory that has led to sentiments such as those you present.”
Fine. You’ve come up with an explanation for our xenophobic apathy. Palestinian suicide bombings have psychosocial explanations as well. What’s your point?
JD: “I don’t agree with Mr. Deen that this story even indirectly addresses the real problem of the community not giving a damn about others…”
To me it does. It’s a story about apathy. And that, to me, is the crux of the issue. It’s not a question of mobilizing Shomrim for every child. It’s a question of giving a krechtz for your neighbor’s tragedy even if it isn’t felt as deeply as your own.
JD shared my thoughts exactly: “….I often agree with the sentiments expressed here. This piece, however, completely fails to address any community shortcoming, and, worse, actually tries to make an evil of something good…..etc, etc” the whole thing, very well said.
Additionally, the end of the story where a police officer completely disregards a parent notifying of the disappearance of a 9 year old is a very cheap shot, and makes the rest of the rhetoric fall flat and empty.
Initially the story did a great job of highlighting the ugly fact that Leiby and any possible Isabel out there are 2 of thousands of children that suffer sexual abuse and worse from people who look familiar and initially seem friendly to them. Any story that brings light to that fact and makes us think about it and hopefully makes us be more alert about what is happening in our midst, not just for the sake of our own children, but for the sake of all children, is a worthwhile story. The way this story took that cheap shot in the end, is something the author ought to reflect about, and hopefully try to avoid in the future, for the exact reasons JD argued.
Shulem
The point is that it is more a matter of emotional ambivalence in light of our nations tragic history, than a practical and true xenophobia. And therein lies the difference : frum society doesn’t blow up children and in a real life situation will instinctively rush to save the life of any human being. What is the difference between somebody who is suicidal and someone who has suicidal thoughts? That the former actually commits suicide.
Many are susceptible to hateful thoughts, even our own Sam in this very article. But the test of true hate is when push comes to shove when human life is in danger. Will Hasidim come to the rescue? You well know they will. Do Palestinians blow up babies? They do. That’s what true hate is.
YP — What exactly is “true” xenophobia?
Not sure how your point about blowing up children has relevance. My point was that every social pathology has an explanation (yes, even suicide bombings), but that hardly excuses it. So to that you’re telling me that the social pathologies of the frum world aren’t as bad as that of the Palestinians? That’s a pretty weak standard to hold them up to.
Also, the kid in this story is neither German nor Palestinian, so it’s still kinda unclear how you’re explaining the apathy to her fate. Unless you’re suggesting that to the frum world, all outsiders are one and the same: from Brooklyn Hispanics to WWII-era Germans to the Pennsylvania Amish to suicidal Palestinians to Alaskan Inuits to to peace-loving Buddhists. But if so, well, right there you can see where I kinda have a problem
Not sure what your point was about suicides, but relevance aside: note that by definition every suicide begins with a suicidal thought. Otherwise we call it an accident.
As for Sam’s thoughts being “hateful,” we’d have to completely redefine the term then. If by “hateful” you mean “uncomfortable views about my community, which I’d rather everyone see in the rosiest light possible and refrain from any and all criticism that I don’t agree with myself” then yes, I suppose you can say Sam is hateful. But that’s a hate I, for one, can live with. I’ve been accused of worse.
Shulem
I am sorry to see that you did not understand my point, but I see no point in elaborating further. I will only summarize : My point was that true hate is one which leads to action. A hate that doesn’t lead a person to behave hatefully is meaningless.
It is this meaningless hate that gives Sam the idea that a community coming together to save the life of a child is a product of xenophobia.
And it is this hate that leads you to assume I am Hasidic just because I am criticizing the opinion of one of your own. Because you can take Shulem out of New Square but you can’t take New Square out of Shulem.
There, some meaningless hate on my part. But trust me brother,if you need my help I’ll be there for you.
BTW — I think it’s worth noting what “TruJu” commented above…
First, he/she/it had this to say about the story: “Disgusting.”
Then, he/she/it thought it necessary to elaborate, and gave us this:
“Jews care for each other, even somebody they don’t know, and “Isabel” was from a different religion where each person only cares about whether or not his beer will still be cold when he gets back from taking a piss.”
So there you have it, folks.
Granted, most frum Jews wouldn’t put it so crudely, but the sentiment isn’t uncommon. And that, YK, is hardly explained by our tragic history.
“A hate that doesn’t lead a person to behave hatefully is meaningless.”
Aside from this being a load of drivel, I take it then that mine and Sam’s “hatred” too are “meaningless.” Makes one wonder why you’d object so…
“And it is this hate that leads you to assume I am Hasidic…”
I assumed no such thing, my friend. Frum, probably. Charedi, maybe. Muddled thinker, certainly. But no, I never thought you were Hasidic.
You still there for me if I need your help, “brother”?
Shulem
That was exactly my point. Your hate is meaningless. And I don’t object to it. It is your thought about a community coming together to save a life that I objected to. And your inability to grasp a basic point if you think it’s coming from somebody frum and defending the frum community. And if you need help I’ll be there for you anyway.
You know what, YK, you’re right. I really don’t grasp your “basic” point.
What you call my “thought” was an objection to apathy. So if you object to that objection, well, indeed I fail to grasp it… Chalk it up to me being from New Square, and we’ll leave it at that…
TruJu-
I am at a loss here and your comment has compelled me to share my first ever comment on a Web site.
You wrote that Sam’s piece is ‘disgusting’ and then later added, “and “Isabel” was from a different religion where each person only cares about whether or not his beer will still be cold when he gets back from taking a piss.”
Your blatant racism is quite jarring! First of all, you perpetuate a ridiculous stereotype. Secondly, are you implying that a child of a parent who you deem sub-par, is not as cherished/important/worthy as a child in Boro Park?
I’m curious about your motivation here.
Very interesting discussion. It has stirred up so many different but tangled thoughts/feelings, that I’d love to jump in and respond. Respond to who or to what, you ask? I do not know, but respond I must, if only to release some of the explosive pressure this article has caused to build up inside me to such dangerously high levels.
Instead of heaving here in public view, I’ll take some time to collect my thoughts, filter through them and recognize them for what they are; blind irrational emotions which stem from the child within me, or are they logical and well-founded, in which case I shall build on them.
Truju – you are a foul racist. If Isabel had been the only child missing, would Hasids have looked for her? No. Would they have donated money to her parents and gone to a memorial honouring her? No.
If Isabel had been taken by one of her own would her community angrily flood the internet with claims of “I heard he was not actually from Puerto. Rico, he’s actually a Jew who was adopted” or “He’s a convert to Catholicism, he used to be a Jew”. No, they wouldn’t have, just as they wouldn’t have ignored the police and gone to a Catholic only ’security patrol’ rather than saying “Mustn’t use the police. I hear a lot of them are Jewish, they can’t be trusted”.
But hey, goyim are just savages, no better than animals, right? Giving money to Leiby’s memorial fund and attending the event honouring him was just antisemitism wasn’t it? They should have done so much more. After all, the hasidim would have crawled naked across broken glass to save a goyishe kind, they would have devoted time, resources and money to the honour of the murdered hispanic or black child of one of their maids. Wouldn’t they?
No. They wouldn’t. And you know they wouldn’t. They wouldn’t even do it for a Jewish kid who wasn’t orthodox.
That’s the really stupid thing about disparaging “the others”. They’re all colours, ethnicities, nationalities and religions. You can’t tar them all with the same brush. Hasidim though? Now there’s a homogenous group that’s easy to criticise, whose own blind racism and delusions of superiority have led to the pain and suffering of so many Jewish children.
Trust me Truju, your bronze age insanity hurts nobody but your own. Goyim don’t hate yiddin, they’re too busy getting on with their lives to give you a second thought. But teaching the children of the klal that Jews are always to be trusted, that goyim are evil and low, that they can always trust a man with a beard and payess? That’s not hurting goyim. That’s hurting jewish children every day the world turns.
Insisting that Levi Aron was not a jew, was a convert, was an adopted goy, was framed by someone else? That’s only hurting your own too.
You black-clad idiots had a chance to change your ways, to reflect on how to tackle crimes against children perpetuated by the community. Instead you sank deeper into insanity and denial, and it is your children, and your children’s children, that will suffer for it.
Leiby’s death was entirely in vain. I hope you’re happy with the world you’ve created, because it isn’t the goyim who have to live in it.
I wasn’t saying we don’t care about Isabel “because” she was from a different religion. I was saying the fact that she was, in the story, from a different religion is the reason why there was nobody looking for her. Not because We don’t care about other religions, but because the other religions (ethnicitie, nationalities, etc) don’t give 2 shits about anybody else’s child. That is the contrast that I was making. I apologize if it was misconstrued.
I don’t think Isabel’s father is a bad person; he tried to find her. But where were her neighbors, her aunts and uncles?
Granted, this was a work of fiction, but the writers bias against the Evil Hasidic Jews is what I was protesting. Was the situation handled perfectly? I would never say it was. But what was sad about the story was the fact that even the author knew that a missing child from another race would never create the outpouring of sympathy and support that Leiby caused.
Also, FYI, I am not chasidish or chabad. Just looking from a different angle than the rest of the posters, apparently.
Umm, TruJu, you serious? You include this in your clarification?
“… other religions (ethnicitie, nationalities, etc) don’t give 2 shits about anybody else’s child.”
Yes, I believe that. And the story implies that as well. Like I said, where were her neighbors, aunts, etc? Forget complete strangers (like leiby had) the reason there is no uproar by a non-jewish child is because non immediate family doesn’t care (generally).
My original point was not to hate on non-jews, it was anger at the author for making it seem like a bad thing that Jews jump to help one another.
@TruJu
Hmmmmm…
“Not because We don’t care about other religions, but because the other religions (ethnicitie, nationalities, etc) don’t give 2 shits about anybody else’s child.”
“Forget complete strangers (like leiby had) the reason there is no uproar by a non-jewish child is because non immediate family doesn’t care (generally).”
Have you heard of Adam Walsh, Etan Patz, Polly Klaas, Elizabeth Smart, Jaycee Dugard, Shawn Hornbeck or Sandra Cantu? Do you watch the news or read newspapers? The American public (regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender) held vigil after vigil for these children, helped authorities search endlessly, gave money and offered emotional support to their families and friends.
When some of these children were reunited with their families, Americans rejoiced. Unfortunately, when most of these children were returned to their families for burial, Americans wept.
http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PublicHomeServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US
I don’t know who you associate with, but everyone I know, gives ‘two shits’ about these kids.
Yes, there are a few cases…but how many more cases are there that we don’t hear about?
TruJu, you seem to live in a bubble, a bubble that perspires disdain for anyone who’s not inside your bubble. But life has a funny way to show us our wrongdoing. So good luck to you in your bubble.
But I do need to say about The Crime of Isabel Huerta, that the officers, clerks in the police station at the end of the story do, in fact, not give 2 shits about a missing 9 year old Hispanic girl. That’s what you wrote Mr. Katz, and so you see the myths that you perpetuate.
NO LIGHT,
Thanks for giving voice to my feelings.