Fearful of what is brewing
Rabbi Joseph Raksin’s murder on Aug. 9 in North Miami Beach concerns me. Rabbi Raksin was walking to his synagogue on Shabbat in daylight wearing telltale chasidic garb within a heavily populated Jewish community. He was confronted by two individuals. Within moments, Rabbi Raksin was shot to death. The immediate news coverage has been that it was due to a “botched robbery.” It is being said that not many know that Orthodox Jews do not carry money on Shabbat. Plus the cover up that this is not a hate crime.
Really? Recently, a synagogue two blocks away was vandalized with swastikas and the word “Hamas” (“Increasingly, Israel’s critics blame the Jews,” WJW, Aug. 7). Does anyone know what is going on in London, Paris, Australia, Berlin and Holland? I am not referring to the Israel-Palestinian-Gaza demonstrations. I am referring to actual attacks on Jewish institutions and against Jews. When I found out about Rabbi Raksin’s murder, I immediately sent off emails to some 300 on my contact list … mainly Jews. In addition, I posted this on my Facebook. The email replies I got were at most five, basically saying “sad.” There was not one comment on Facebook. An 80-year-old New York Jewish transplant to Delray Beach, Fla., replied, “Sounds like young punks.” Really? Am I the only one who sees what it is? Am I the only one who is fearful of God forbid what may be brewing?
MARILYN STEIN Montgomery Village
