Hasidic
Rabbi Shot Dead on Crown Heights Street
-The New
York Times
Friday,
October 26, 1979
By Sheila
Rule
 |
| Hasidic Jews
walking through Crown Heights after burial ceremonies
yesterday for Rabbi Dovid Okunov |
A 68-year-old Hasidic rabbi on his way to a synagogue was
shot to death yesterday morning in the racially troubled.
Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. Hours later, more than
a thousand. Hasidic Jews marched through the area in a funeral
procession. Witnesses said the rabbi had been killed by
a black man.
The police said the rabbi, David Okunov, who recently emigrated
from the Soviet Union, was shot once in the head at about
7 A.M. in front of 808 Montgomery Street. The rabbi, who
lived at 656 Crown Street, was on his way to services at
the Congregation Anash Synagogue, 770 Montgomery Street.
Robbery, not race, was the apparent motive in the killing,
according to the police. Witnesses reported seeing a young
black man near the scene of the murder with a richly embroidered
prayer shawl that Mr. Okunov had been carrying.
Governor Carey said in a statement that all New Yorkers
were "horrified" by Rabbi Okunov's murder.
‘Particularly Tragic’
"It is particularly tragic that a man who came here
to enjoy the free practice of his religion, who worked hard
for his fellow immigrants, should be so wantonly and senselessly
cut down," the Governor said. "We can only hope
that the memory of his life, of his struggle for freedom
and justice and mercy, will be cherished by every New Yorker."
Rabbi David Fisher, a friend of the victim, said he had
rushed from the synagogue to the street when he heard screams.
"He was hit in the eye with one shot," said Mr.
Fisher. "He was killed in a very cold way."
The police said that the funeral procession consisted of
2,000 people. Members of the Hasidic community put the number
at close to 5,000.
At the funeral there was criticism of Mayor Koch because,
according to Rabbi Elye L. Gross, of his "noncommittal
policy of not respecting our commitment to remain in this
area.''
Says Mayor Ignored Request
"He is permitting blight to enter this area by not
funneling in Federal funds for housing," Rabbi Gross
said. He added that the Mayor had ignored a request by the
Jewish community to attend the funeral.
Mr. Koch declined to comment on the criticism.
Rabbi Gross described Mr. Okunov as a family man who had
gone through "hell in Russia as a Jew and finally came
to free America, only to be shot on the streets on his way
to prayer."
He said that he expected the next few days to be "volatile,"
but that he expected no violence in the community, which
has been the scene of clashes between Jews and blacks in
the past. Spokesmen for the Hasidim said no organized demonstrations
were planned. Some of the Hasidim had been complaining
that police protection in the neighborhood was inadequate.
The Rev. Herbert Daughtry, a black Brooklyn leader who has
led demonstrations against the Hasidim in the past, said
that he was "watching the developments" and that
he had received calls from blacks who contended that they
were being harassed by police officers searching for the
assailant.
"Nothing has changed," said Mr. Daughtry, alluding
to what he called a tense racial climate.
Coalition Formed in May
A coalition of black and Hasidic leaders was formed in May
in an effort to halt the hostility that had plagued the
community. Mr. Gross said the coalition, which said it
intended to establish a "hot line" between the
two communities and an ombudsman's office, was still in
existence and "successful."
He said black coalition members and others in the black
community were "cooperating with us in every way to
catch the perpetrator."
Animosity between the two groups has resulted in a constant
tension through the community. Many blacks' are still bitter
about the way Crown Heights was divided into two districts
after the Hasidic leaders complained that they wanted a
bigger voice in the affairs of their neighborhood.
In the summer of 1978, nearly 2,000 blacks demonstrated
in front of the headquarters of the Lubavitcher Hasidim
after a black contractor and civic leader, Arthur Miller,
was killed in a struggle with police officers when he apparently
intervened in the arrest of his brother for a driving violation.
In another incident, a black youth was allegedly beaten
by a group of Hasidic youths.
Mr. Gross said that a special police task force had been
established to conduct the investigation into the murder
of Mr. Okunov, who was buried at Montefiore Cemetery in
Queens.
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