Posted to Jewish News on
by Joshua Levitt - Algemeiner

Dear NY Post: “He Didnt Want His Father Dead”

The New York Post came under heavy criticism for its coverage of the tragic death of Menachem “Max” Stark, a Chasidic Jew kidnapped on Friday morning, then discovered dead, burnt and buried in a dumpster on Saturday.

The newspaper’s front page on Sunday featured Stark, in traditional dress, including a streimel, a fur hat, and kapote, a satin black coat, beside the headline, “Slumlord found burned in dumpster: Who didn’t want him dead?”

Jews took to Facebook and Twitter early on Sunday to call for a protest against the Post.

“Guys! The path that the New York Post took towards us is hateful, outrageous, & unacceptable!” Don Stern, a musician, wrote on Facebook. “They need to hear it from us otherwise it won’t stop, so take a moment & email them & demand them to stop the blind hate.”

A page entitled, “Condemn the NY Post for Sundays Cover Page,” has attracted over 1,000 “likes” in a few hours. Stern’s comment was made on a post entitled “Is murder a good thing??!!”

Avraham Berkowitz, a senior Chabad rabbi, tweeted, ”Is @nypost giving the at large killers of Menachem Stark the green light to kill their next contract victim.”

YossiW, another Twitter user, said “Dear NYPost. Its me Bin Ladin. What could I’ve done more to deserve such a nice cover like menachem stark. Shame on U@nypost #StopNYPostHate.”

Yaacov Behrman, executive director of the Jewish Future Alliance, told The Algemeiner on Sunday, “Eight young orphans watched their father buried last night. They will surely hear the details of his death once they return to school. Young innocent children!”

“If you don’t respect the dead at least have some respect for the family. I feel like the media came very close to legitimizing his murder,” he said.

“I am deeply disturbed by the cover of the NY Post this morning with the headline ‘who didn’t want him dead.’ Here’s someone who didn’t want him dead,” Behrman said.

In a statement, New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind condemned the story. Hikind said, “I understand that the New York Post wants to sell papers and that they are willing to sacrifice the standards of propriety from time to time. But there is a difference between bad taste and just plain indecency.”

“The pain that this headline caused to not only a man’s family but to the entire Jewish community is indescribable and was so unnecessary. It was a heartless act that should never have been allowed. It was truly beneath contempt,” the Jewish lawmaker said.

CrownHeights.info made the editorial decision not to further distribute the Posts shameful cover or article, nor be a party to the gross and deplorable bizayon hames.

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35 Comments

  • Disgusted

    Just disgusting, about time people realize the Post is just a pile of garbage, and not just because of this clear antisemitism, but because they do this to everyone with no regard..

  • BZ-IN-LV

    Murdoch, owner of the NY Post, also owns hundreds of television networks, magazines, newspapers, web-content , book publishers, restaurants (and more!) spanning the globe. The list long, but we should boycott at least:

    The New York Post
    Fox News Radio
    Fox Broadcasting Co. (Fox)
    The Wall Street Journal
    Marketwatch
    HarperCollins Books
    The (London) Times
    The Brooklyn Paper
    Bronx Times-Reporter
    Flatbush Jewish Journal
    Imedi Television, Radio Israel 10
    National Geographic
    AND MORE!

    It is now time to boycott all of News Corp. investments. The Australian ex-pat has infiltrated the World media. An example is that he owns so much of China’s communications infrastructure, none of his media properties will criticize the China’s regime. Nothing about that is fair or balanced.

    The Murdoch Empire (News Corp.) is scandal ridden and vile. He hacked into the medical records and voice conversations of the UK Prime Minister, the Royal Family and families of terrorist bombings. US Republican Rep. King wrote a letter to the FBI requesting an investigation into News Corporation’s ethical practices, the FBI opened a probe into the hacking of 9/11 victims.

    BOYCOTT

    • murdrek has no clue yet

      Can’t blame the oweners just yet as they don’t have a say in every aeticle but we can judge them how they react once they find oit

    • Milhouse

      News Corp does not own the NY Times. It does own the Post, but owners are not supposed to interfere with their newspapers’ editorial decisions. The only role they’re supposed to play is to appoint the publisher, who in turn hires the editor and leaves all editorial decisions in his hands to do as he thinks fit. So long as the editor doesn’t make such a bad decision that the publisher fires him, he has a free rein. And so long as the publisher returns a profit to the owner, he> has a free rein. So Rupert Murdoch is not responsible for this; Col Allan is, and all complaints should go to him, or to his boss Jesse Angelo.

  • al sharpton would be shaking trees

    Where are the protests and demonstrations??
    Al Sharpton should teach you how to fight real injustice.
    Where are the Jewish leaders???

    • CHLEAKS.COM

      You can be that Jewish leader.

      Stop expecting others to take action. In a place where there is no man, be the man!!!

  • Boruch

    How about show some satmar quotes instead of Behrman, Berkowitz etc., to hear the REAL uncensored rage at the post?

  • What about others?

    Sorry if I can’t get all in a frenzy over the NYP cover, they do this all the time, it’s only an outrage when it’s “one of ours”?

    • true but

      First of all its never as bad as this they make fun of people while they are alive and caught with the crime not after someone is killed. Please show me where they did this to a black person or someone else. Secondly yes we whpport our brothers would u write the same comment if this was your brotheror or son?

    • False

      No, they don’t legitimize murder “all the time.” And, yes, I’m Jewish and will defend one of ours. Is that cool with you, bro?

  • Action

    The answer is EVERY DECENT HUMAN BEING!  

    We must condemn the NY Post. 

    Tips@nypost.com
    Online@nypost.com
    Letters@nypost.com
    Customerservice@nypost.com
    212-930-8000

    This hurts firat and foremost because it’s our very own family member. But We must also take this as a moment of introspection. Hold up the NY Post as a mirror to ourselves. Heaven knows how many deplorable, dehumanizing comments are made on this website regarding innocent victims that happen to be our neighbors. We must recognize the NY Post’s actions as a Human travesty and make sure we are never culpable of such shameful disregard for human dignity an life.

  • Kingston Ave Stores

    I would hope that the Kingston Ave will have the guts not to sell that trash paper ever again, Money is not more important that Jewish blood.

  • please list the post's advertisers

    so we can tell them its either us (customers) or them (nypost)

  • SAMSON

    As some commenters have wisely said before me, this is more than a Jewish issue at this point – this is a Human issue. What the NY Post did here is beyond outrageous by any standard! Is it now OK for a newspaper to publically sympathize with torturers and murderers, anywhere in their newspaper, especially on PAGE 1! If the victim was African-American, Latino-American, Italian-American, Irish-American, etc…would the NY Post have done this??? You can answer that question yourself and that can be argued (as some of the commentators have done; but what’s obvious here is that the NY Post, by their statement, are publically inferring that they are sympathizing with the MURDERERS!! And not the victim and his distraught family!! Or at least being impartial. How can they do this? Obviously they think that Jews, especially Hasidic Jews, are easy targets for their horrifically disgusting form of sadistic journalism. I agree with my fellow commentators here who are calling for an all-out boycott – it’s time!

  • Jewish blood is not cheap

    its the NEwYORK SLIMES
    THEN NEW YORK PUST
    THE DAILY ZNUS!!
    chevra lets get it straight

    its open season on the Jews and we must stand up and be counted. we must continue to be a light among the nations but we must call to the carpet all those who try to legitimize us.

    what we see in sunday’s post is the regurgitation of the old canard of the shylock jew wanting his pound of flesh. This poor man was made into a villain and the masses are rejoicing at his demise because of leftist stereo type!!!!!

  • Drop Dead NY Post

    If we want anyone DEAD its the NY Post newspaper they should end up smoldering in their ruins and buried in their headlines they should be thrown out of the stores and flooded with problems from top to bottom they shall be plagued with scandals and explode in shame.

    • Milhouse

      Of course it’s protected speech. Who has suggested otherwise? Nobody is proposing any legal action against the Post, because that is impossible. They haven’t done anything that a court can recognize as a crime or a tort, and nobody claims they have.

      But that doesn’t make it less outrageous. They must be punished, not by the courts but by all decent yidden. First, those who used to buy it should stop. Second, vendors who used to sell it should seriously consider whether they can afford to stop carrying it; at least try boycotting it for a few days and see how it goes. That is our protected speech.

    • star

      that’s what we do we use our freedom of speech to talk out ours about the new york post

  • Critic

    The paradigm of modern journalism: what matters is to create a juicy headline, a simple one and easily palatable for Orwellian sheep (who, unfortunately, became the majority, thank’s to Left-dominated media and educational system) catch-phrase. Whether this has anything to do with reality is completely irrelevant.

  • HAS ANYONE BEEN TO COURT

    OVER SICK BUILDINGS? JUST FOR EXAMPLE,CRACK CHIMMY LINNERS,OIL BELOW #4 OR 6, HIGH IN SULFER,IT AIN’T OIL,CHEMICALS,IF ANYONE WANTS TO KNOW WHY MANY PEOPLE ARE ILL,IT’S THE SYSTEM,THE LANDLORDS TENTET COURTS ARE ALL CORRUP,THE INSPECATORS ARE ALL BRIDED,THE JUDGES COULDN’T CARE LESS,,I KNOW WE WENT,JUDGE FINKELSTIEN DIDN’T GIVE A HOOT, MULTI THIS BY THE MILLIONS,MANY SUFFER,NO WONDER THE PEOPLE CAN’T STAND THE LANDLORD,FOOD IS IMPORTANT,BUT IT’S NOT EVERYTHING,YOU KNOW HOW THEY GET AWAY WITH IT,CORRUPTION ALL THE WAY THROUGH,IF YOU WANT THE PEOPLE TO KEEP THE 7 LAWS OF NOACH,YOU GOTTA HAVE A HEART,THE REBBE SAYS MANY TIMES THESE THINGS DELAY THE REDEMPTION,HONESTY IS THE THING,LOT OF POEPLE DO IT ,,JUST LIKE THE REBBE SAYS,THERE WERE TIMES THE REBBE SAID THAT HE SPEAKING TO A CON OF DEAF PEOPLE,HASHEM IS SHOWING US

  • Surprised

    I am rather shocked that the Post, of all papers, would have such a headline. During the Crown Heights Pogrom, it was the Post who was the most supportive of the CH community.

    Nevertheless, let’s say that the Post would have had a more decent headline and manner of reporting. Are the negative allegations not true? Yes, he gave lots of tzedaka to Jewish causes in a humble way, like a Tzaddik. But, are you allowed to cheat or neglect, even a goy, to be able to do so?

    • Milhouse

      A building is a business, not a tzedokah project; it has to pay for itself, or there’s no point in having it. A person buys a run-down building, puts money into fixing it, and then the tenants who hardly pay any rent complain that it’s not perfect. If you want perfect, you have to pay enough rent to make it worth making perfect.

      The fact is that any chossid who owns real estate is going to be called a “slumlord”. It doesn’t matter how good he is, the mere fact that he is a chossid and owns property makes him one in the eyes of people like the antisemite who wrote this piece. So why come with taynos to him? Everyone agrees that nothing can justify this murder, and that’s all that matters. The Post article was disgusting and must be protested.

  • Before giving tzedaka

    Of course nothing can justify such a grizzly murder, HY”D, even if the accusations are true, CH”V!

    When we were living in Crown Heights, there was a time we were having financial problems. One of the big Rabbanan told us, to pay our bills first before giving tzedaka.

    So, yes, the fact that Menachem Stark gave so much tzedaka made him look wonderul. But some of the allegations, among other things, was that he owed money on loans. If true, was he allowed to give tzedaka before satisfying those obligations?

    As far as a “chossid who owns real estate,” you don’t need anti-semites. We had, in Crown Heights, many years ago, a landlord with the most properties, who was accused by the community of cheating YIDDEN! Some of the accusers included big Rabbanan. So, if a chassidishe landlord would cheat Yidden, why not a goy?

    In any case, there should be a paper trail and other evidence to verify if the negative allegations have any basis or otherwise.

  • correction

    Dear moderator:

    I don’t know if it makes much of a big difference, but the Rav said to pay our “debts.” So, on 32, would you please change,”pay our ‘bills,’ ” to “pay or ‘debts.’ ”
    Thanks.

  • Frederick York

    Living in London I would like to offer a UK perspective on the controversy over the headline relating to the tragic death of Mr Stark.
    I must confess I was shocked and appalled by the words used and I am sure such a headline would be inconceivable in a British newspaper. It is true that our papers are also often guilty of tasteless sensationalism but not to this extent.
    Above all other considerations the most important was the ghastly nature of this man’s death. Being murdered and burned is naturally a dreadful prospect for any human being but it has a specific horror for Jews which it does not have for other people. Although this horror is partly a result of the Holocaust with the unspeakable cremation of millions of Jews – it goes beyond that. The fact is that for a religious Jew cremation is an absolute taboo. One of the most important commandments fin Judaism is to be buried whole in the grave after death.
    You could argue that the words used in the headline might be more acceptable if this man had died apparently of natural causes but there was some suspicion that he might have been murdered (for example by being poisoned) However there was nothing natural about his fate – he died like an animal.
    It is true that there are serious allegations about his business dealings but there are also some people willing to defend him – people outside the Jewish community who claim he treated them decently as a landlord.
    So the full picture is still unclear. But whatever the true facts about this man’s life the hellish nature of his death means that the New York Post headline was an example of crass insensitive and unprofessional journalism at its worst
    Sorry I am not Jewish but i have fillings for human being
    Frederick York