Rabbi Joseph Raskin shot dead on way to Miami shul
Published August 9, 2014
(JTA) — Joseph Raskin, a 60-year-old Orthodox rabbi, was shot and killed on his way to synagogue in North Miami Beach on Saturday morning.
Police are searching for two suspects said to be young males.
Raksin, who is from Brooklyn, reportedly was in town visiting his granddaughter and other relatives. He was walking to the synagogue, Bais Menachem, when he was confronted by the two men.
Police say that Raksin was shot several times following an altercation, though witnesses told NBC reporters there was no altercation and that the assailants were African-American makes. Raskin was airlifted to Ryder Trauma Center, where he died.
A nearby synagogue, Torah V’Emunah, was the target of vandalism on July 28, with swastikas and the word “Hamas” spray-painted on the front pillars.
Police say this shooting likely was a robbery gone bad.
“At this time there is no indication of this being a hate crime,” Miami-Dade police spokeswoman Elena Hernandez said in a statement, according to the Miami Herald.
“At this time, it appears to be a robbery that went badly,” Hava Holzhauer, the Florida regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said in a statement. “Currently no evidence has been brought to light that it was motivated by anti-Semitism. While our community is on high alert due to recent anti-Semitic incidents that have coincided with hostilities in the Middle East, we must be careful not to assume this was a hate-motivated crime unless or until such information is discovered and released by law enforcement.”