29 Years After His Murder, The ADL Announces $50,000 Reward

by CrownHeights.info

29 Years after Lubavitcher Bochur Ari Halberstam HY”D was gunned down as he and fourteen other bochurim were driving on the Brooklyn Bridge, The ADL has announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any co-conspirators.

“ADL is offering a reward of $50,000 for info leading to the arrest and conviction of any co-conspirators responsible for the 1994 murder of Ari Halberstam and the attempted murder of 14 teenagers on the Brooklyn Bridge,” the ADL announced on social media.

The incident, which was classified as a terrorist attack in 2005, was perpetrated by Lebanese-born terrorist Rashid Baz. Baz was arrested and ultimately found guilty of second degree murder and 14 additional counts of attempted murder in New York Supreme Court on December 1, 1994. He was sentenced to 141 years to life in prison.

“The murder of Ari Halberstam was indisputably an antisemitic terrorist attack and a hate crime that sent shockwaves through the Jewish community,” wrote Jonathan Greenblatt of the ADL. “We appreciate the
@FBI’s efforts to seek justice and hope this reward will incentivize anyone with pertinent info to come forward.”

Bassam Reyati, uncle of Baz and the owner of the car, was convicted of concealing evidence, and was also sentenced to 5 years of probation and a $1,000 fine on October 16, 1996. Hilal Abd Al-Aziz Muhammad, owner of the car repair shop Baz used to hide the damage to his car, was convicted of concealing evidence and hindering prosecution. He was sentenced to five years of probation on May 17, 1995. Albert Jeanniton was convicted for illegally selling one of the guns obtained by Baz.

Despite the conviction of Baz, the Halberstam family and others wanted a further investigation to probe any terrorist links to Baz. On August 26, 1999, the United States Department of Justice and FBI agreed to open an investigation into Baz. The investigation did not yield any new leads connected to terrorist organizations but the Justice Department did formally reclassify the incident as an act of terrorism.

In his confession in 2007, Baz said, “I only shot them because they were Jewish.”