Chabad Family Not Deterred in Face of Apparent Arson

After spending the last days of Sukkot in a neighboring town, Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries Rabbi Menachem and Moussia Teichman returned to their Uzhgorod, Ukraine, home only to find it gutted by fire.

Torah stolen from Jewish school in Cottage Grove

Cottage Grove, MN — The Sefer Torah at MyYeshiva, the Yeshiva High School of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, was stolen during Chol Hamoed Sukkos. Thieves apparently broke in to the yeshiva building through a window in the zal, the study hall, and made off with the yeshiva’s only Torah. The Torah was donated last year to the yeshiva by a friend and supporter in honor of the school’s opening.

“There’s a feeling of violation when your car is stolen, or when your purse is snatched,” said Rabbi Mottel Friedman, executive director of MyYeshiva, “The feeling of having our Torah stolen, our most precious inheritance, is the worst type of violation. Our very souls have been wounded.”

Man Assaulted with Metal Pipe, Rock Thrown Into Sukkah

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn [CHI] — A relatively calm and peaceful Sukkos and Simchas Torah was marred by two serious acts of violence against the Jewish community. A Jewish man on his way home on Friday night was assaulted by a young black male, who was riding on a bike and swung a metal pipe at his head.

The incident took place on Crown Street between Kingston and Albany Avenues at around 1:30 AM, Hatzalah received the call for an assault and upon arriving on scene they began treating the victim, who was described to be in his late 30’s, for serious trauma to the back of his head.

He was apparently assaulted by the young perpetrator with a metal pipe, described a number of eye witnesses, the victim himself could not recount the attack since he lost consciousness immediately after the assault.

Swastikas Found Scrawled in Brooklyn

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn — Swastikas and hateful messages aimed at Jews were spray-painted on buildings and cars in more than a dozen locations in Brooklyn Heights on Monday night and yesterday, and fliers with savage epithets were found in three locations there, the police said.

There were no arrests yesterday, but more than 20 detectives were assigned to the case, as were dozens of officers in uniform and plainclothes, along with members of the department’s Hate Crime Task Force. A city truck equipped with tools and chemicals to remove graffiti was also dispatched.

Jewish Girl Accosted by Knife Wielding Black Youth

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn [CHI] — A Jewish girl, 15, was accosted Thursday evening by a knife wielding black youth on Crown Street. The incident took place as the girl was walking home when the perpetrator approached her on the darkened sidewalk and pulled out a folding knife, upon seeing this she began screaming and called for help.

Lots of residents came pouring out of their houses and managed to apprehend the suspect just a half of a block away on the corner of Crown and Schenectady, where they surrounded him and waited for police, who arrived shortly thereafter.

More in the Extended Article.

Attacker Apprehended, Rabbi Doing Better

FRANKFURT, Germany [CHI] – On the second day of Rosh Hashana came the word of the arrest of the suspect, 22, who attacked Rabbi Zalman HaLevi Gurevitch, Shliach to the city of Frankfurt Germany.

Rabbi Gurevitch was attacked last week while walking home Friday night from the Westend-Synagogue with two Shabbos guests when he was attacked and stabbed while his assailant shouted racial slurs.

Shliach in Franfurt, Germany Stabbed in Apparent Hate Crime

FRANKFURT, Germany [CHI] — Chabad Shliach in Frankfurt, Germany Rabbi Schneur Zalman Gurevitch [42] is in stable condition after being stabbed just a few blocks from his home on Friday night.

The incident unfolded as Rabbi Gurevitch was walking home from the Westend-Synagogue in Frankfurt, a 20 minute walk from his home along with two Shabbos guests when a man shouted a racial slur at the Rabbi.

More in the Extended Article.

Girl Robbed in the Kingson Ave Subway Station

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn [CHI] – Yesterday, Tuesday at around 3:30 PM a girl purchasing a MetroCard at a vending machine in the Kingston Avenue subway station was robbed by a pair of Black males.

The incident began when the girl took $20 out of her wallet to purchase a MetroCard while two Black males, around 16 years old, whom she originally spotted when first entering the station came up behind her and one distracted her by pointing at the screen and the other grabbed her purse.

More in the Extended Article!

Reveler Shot in Leg at Labor Day Parade

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn — A reveler at the West Indian Day parade was shot twice in the leg, and three people were taken into custody for questioning, police said.

The 26-year-old man, who was not named, was taken to a hospital in stable condition after being shot at about 4 p.m. Monday, on Eastern Pkwy and Troy Ave,

In previous years, the event has been marred by tragedy. In 1999, two children died when they were pinned between floats, and hours later a man was run over by a float and killed. In 2005, a man was shot to death.

Last year, police had two reports of violence: a man shot in the leg and another person stabbed.

Hate Crime in Fairfax District Sparks Outrage

LOS ANGELES, CA — L.A. Police stepped up their patrols in the Fairfax District Friday night after a pellet gun attack against two Jewish rabbinical students. City leaders are outraged over the hate crime.

Police say the shooting spree lasted through Thursday night into the early Friday morning. Two young men in a black Lexus were shooting at people randomly with a pellet gun but in the Fairfax District neighborhood they chose their targets specifically and now they stand accused of a hate crime.