Rabbi's follower clashes with New Square burn victim's family
9:28 PM, May. 25, 2011 |
New Square Burn Victim Press Conference: Attorney Michael Sussman, representing burn victim Aron Rottenberg and family members, talk about the attack on Rottenberg, May 25, 2011, because he didn't attend the community synagogue in New Square. (Video by Peter Carr
Attorney Michael Sussman, left, speaks in front of Aron Rottenberg's home in New Square May 25, 2011. He is representing Rottenberg, who is recovering from burn injuries after an attack at the home. Behind him are Rottenberg's son, Jacob, daughter, Malki Elbaum and son-in-law, Moshe Elbam.. ( Peter Carr / The Journal News )
Shulem Sofer of New Square argues with attorney Michael Sussman, who is representing burn victim Aron Rottenberg, during Wednesday's news conference in front of Rottenberg's home in New Square. / Peter Carr/The Journal News
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.
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