Crime in Their Midst: A Thematic Analysis of a Crime Committed in an Orthodox Jewish Community and its Impact on Community Members by Guila Benchimol A Thesis presented to The University of Guelph In partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Criminology and Criminal Justice Policy Guelph, Ontario, Canada © Guila Benchimol, May, 2013 ABSTRACT CRIME IN THEIR MIDST: A THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF A CRIME COMMITTED IN AN ORTHODOX JEWISH COMMUNITY AND ITS IMPACT ON COMMUNITY MEMBERS Guila Benchimol Advisor: University of Guelph, 2013 Professor M. Dawson Much is unknown about insular communities as they are often closed and guarded. This is especially so when it comes to crimes committed in their midst. Online forums geared to community members can reveal the discussions they have following a crime and the thoughts and feelings of the group. Using a functionalist approach, this study fills a gap in the literature on crimes committed in insular communities by and against community members by asking: what topics of discussion arose for Orthodox Jewish community members following a crime in their midst and were community members united or divided in their discussions? More explicitly, the sociological importance of what they discussed and how this affected community cohesion was examined. To address these questions, the comments following articles about a murder committed in an Orthodox Jewish community in New York on two Orthodox Jewish news websites (Yeshiva World News and Vos Iz Neias) were examined. Qualitative thematic analysis was used to examine how community members reacted to the murder through the discussions they had and whether these discussions affected and reflected community cohesion. Implications for better understanding crime in insular communities are discussed, as are directions for future research. ii Acknowledgements I am deeply grateful to Dr. Myrna Dawson for being my advisor and mentor. I could not have asked for a more supportive advisor and I have learned so much from our every interaction. Thank you for the guidance you provided every step of the way. Thank you to Dr. Andy Hathaway, my committee member, for your thoughtful and insightful comments on earlier drafts of this study. Your feedback greatly improved my work and allowed me to think about it from new perspectives. I would never have pursued graduate studies if not for the encouragement of Dr. Ron Stansfield. Thank you for challenging me to challenge myself and for believing in me. To my friend, Shira Kurtz, I appreciate all your assistance and patience helping me edit every version of this work. Thank you for listening while I discussed my research in earlier stages and for helping me see it through to completion. I would not have made it through the M.A. program without the love and support of my family. To my daughter, Emunah Rachel Woolf, thank you for cheering me on while we went through school together. I hope you have learned the importance of following your dreams and been stimulated by my passion for intellectual pursuit. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to my husband, Moshe Benyair, for his patience and unwavering support. Thank you for standing by me and taking pride in the fact that I ask difficult questions about the world we live in. iii Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Background ....................................................................................................1 1.2 Research Questions ........................................................................................2 1.3 Theoretical Framework ..................................................................................3 1.4 Relevance of Research ...................................................................................4 1.5 Outline of Study .............................................................................................5 Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Chapter Overview ..........................................................................................6 2.2 Functionalism & Mechanical Societies .........................................................6 2.3 Religion & the Orthodox Jewish Community .............................................10 2.4 Insular Communities & Groups ...................................................................13 2.5 Mechanisms of Social Control in Orthodox Jewish Communities ..............16 Language & Speech .....................................................................................17 Deference to Authority .................................................................................18 Modesty ........................................................................................................20 2.6 Managing Threat ..........................................................................................21 2.7 Change & Modernity ...................................................................................24 2.8 Chapter Summary ........................................................................................27 Chapter 3: Methodology 3.1 Research Design...........................................................................................31 3.2 Insider Research ...........................................................................................31 3.3 Data Sources ................................................................................................35 3.4 Data Collection ............................................................................................39 iv 3.5 Synopsis of Articles .....................................................................................41 Missing Child ..............................................................................................41 The Murder & Confession ...........................................................................42 The Police ....................................................................................................42 The Lawyers ................................................................................................43 Safe Children ...............................................................................................43 Leiby’s Parents ............................................................................................44 3.6 Data Analysis ...............................................................................................44 3.7 Using NVivo ................................................................................................54 Chapter 4: Results 4.1 Online Postings ............................................................................................56 4.2 Main Topics .................................................................................................57 First Dominant Topic: Defence Team .........................................................58 Second Dominant Topic: Derogatory Classification ..................................60 Third Dominant Topic: Orthodox Jewish Community ................................60 Fourth Dominant Topic: Jewish Beliefs ......................................................62 Fifth Dominant Topic: Children’s Safety ....................................................63 Sixth Dominant Topic: Jewish Texts ...........................................................63 Seventh Dominant Topic: Due Process .......................................................65 Eighth Dominant Topic: Insanity Defence ..................................................65 Ninth Dominant Topic: Media ....................................................................66 Tenth Dominant Topic: G-d ........................................................................66 4.3 Themes .........................................................................................................67 Theme I. Levi Aron ......................................................................................68 Theme II. The Murder .................................................................................68 Theme III. The Case ....................................................................................69 Theme IV. Punishment .................................................................................69 Theme V. Preventative Measures ................................................................70 Theme VI. Orthodox Judaism ......................................................................70 4.4 Communal Unity & Division .......................................................................72 Aron’s Mental Health .................................................................................73 Aron as Liar ................................................................................................73 Aron’s Family ..............................................................................................74 Secular Society ...........................................................................................75 Aron’s Previous Crimes .............................................................................76 Prior Knowledge ........................................................................................77 Federal Crime ............................................................................................78 Police ...........................................................................................................80 v Civilian Search ............................................................................................80