NEW SQUARE — Relatives of a man who was severely burned in an arson attack were shouted down by a resident of this Hasidic enclave Wednesday for going against the will of the community's grand rebbe.
A lawyer for Aron Rottenberg, the 43-year-old plumber who suffered burns on half his body Sunday, held a news conference in front of the Rottenberg home to call for state and federal investigations into the arson attack.
Lawyer Michael Sussman, joined by Rottenberg's son and son-in-law, said that Rottenberg was harassed for months by the Skver Hasidic sect that runs New Square because he would not pray at the main synagogue, as required by Grand Rebbe David Twersky.
"This is nothing other than religious bigotry," Sussman said. "If it doesn't stop, it will get worse."
Early in the news conference, a six-year New Square resident, Shulem Sofer, began screaming that Sussman was lying. He yelled out that Rottenberg broke the community's rules and that it was justifiable to try to burn down Rottenberg's home, but not to injure the man.
"The rabbi never said to do fire to people," Sofer screamed in a high-pitched voice. "It's anti-Semitism. It's anti-New Square."
Sussman countered that people in the United States are free to pray where they want, but Sofer said he followed the grand rebbe's rules.
"I am from Jew land," he said, drawing laughter from the crowd.
Rottenberg's son-in-law, Moshed Elbaum, asked Sofer what his father-in-law had done wrong. Sofer replied, "It's the wrong thing to go against the rabbi."
As close to 50 people watched, mostly men in wide-rimmed black hats, Sussman and Rottenberg's relatives retreated onto the lawn of the home, and police used tape to separate them from Sofer.
Shaul Spitzer, 18, who formerly worked in Twersky's home and is the cousin of the village's deputy mayor, has been charged with first-degree attempted arson, second-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault in the attack on Rottenberg.
After Wednesday's news conference, the men on the street sharply disagreed about who was at fault, Rottenberg for not following the grand rebbe's rules or Twersky for not speaking out against violence before the attack.
Menasha Lustig, 33, said that Rottenberg knowingly angered the community.
"He abused us more than was done to him," Lustig said. "We told him a few times not to go against the rebbe. Mr. Rottenberg was ready to fight. There is a saying in the Bible, 'Watch out when you play around with your spiritual leaders. You can get burned.' "
Ezrel Zarkowsky, 25, said he received great support from Twersky and the community when his 2-year-old daughter was killed in a traffic accident before Passover.
"This is not just a village; it's a family," he said. "Mr. Rottenberg came, and his whole goal was to split this family."
But Pinches Dirnfeld, 26, who attends Columbia University, blamed Twersky for letting the violence get out of control and said he looked forward to leaving New Square.
"This kid couldn't have the means nor the courage to do this all by himself," Dirnfeld said. "He must have had help. I don't think the rebbe determined what happened. But he knew there were terror attacks carried out in his name and did nothing about it, so I hold him responsible."
A note posted in Hebrew at the main synagogue Wednesday condemned violence of any kind.
Rottenberg's wife, Ruth Rottenberg, told reporters in her home Wednesday that the family had been harassed since her husband started attending prayers at a nearby nursing facility around the High Holidays in the fall. She said he believed prayers were too long in the main synagogue.
Their 15-year-old daughter was soon kicked out of school, she said, and their home and car windows were smashed. A week before the attack, an anonymous phone caller said their house "won't be worth a penny," she said.
Calls to the police went nowhere.
"It sounded like this was acceptable, to police, to everyone," she said.
Her husband had more than eight hours of surgery, including skin grafts, Tuesday at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla. He has third-degree burns on half his body.
Aron Rottenberg encountered Spitzer with flammable liquid outside the family home early Sunday, police said. They struggled, and both were burned.
Spitzer, who was released from custody Tuesday on $300,000 bail, is in the Cornell Medical Center burn unit in Manhattan for severe burns on his hands and arms.
http://www.lohud.com/article/20110526/NEWS03/105260403/Rabbi-s-follower-clash...
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Bobov Rebbe Shlita dancing Mitzva Tantz at Weddingby BobovVideos11,744 views
Damn jews showing again their real faces !! Synagogue of Stana.. souless people !!
PiMagh 5 days ago
WHERE ARE YOUR FEELINGS??? YOU SEIKO
yf8617 5 months ago
@ItsMeGandhi That's ridiculous.
trulymadnow 6 months ago
I'm very sorry to see us fighting like this. We should all do teshuva.
trulymadnow 6 months ago
you can see Menashe Lustig the guy with red beard black hat and black coat stands in the middle of the group- he is chassidic skver comedian)
Jaggitera 8 months ago
Jewish guys in New Sqare, dont speak proper english....they speak "their language".
zadikko 8 months ago
This is a bunch of mindless terrorists!
zadikko 8 months ago
Nothing better than a group of homicidal kikes showing their true colors.
ItsMeGandhi 9 months ago
the Christians need to start moving in there....I would love to see how these jews would treat Christians in their community
american1476 9 months ago
This video gives a closer view on what the whole Machloikes is, if you live in Amarica and you can do what you want or you have to follow the jewish rules... Now you deside who is right. Shame on you Album.....
AZIL5845 9 months ago