Skvere Rebbe Says He's Innocent
The chief rabbi in a Hasidic village north of New York City says a lawsuit filed against him after a resident was burned in a fiery attack is without merit.
Chief rabbi disputes lawsuit in fiery NY attack
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) - The chief rabbi in a Hasidic village north of New York City says a lawsuit filed against him after a resident was burned in a fiery attack is without merit.
A resident of New Square who was badly burned in May had alleged Grand Rebbe David Twersky directed the attack. Plaintiff Aron Rottenberg claimed Twersky targeted him because he had begun praying at a synagogue other than the principal one in the insular village of 7,000 residents.
On Monday, Twersky's attorney Franklyn Snitow issued a statement saying the lawsuit has no legal or factual basis. The attorney says Twersky condemns violence.
Eighteen-year-old village resident Shaul Spitzer has been indicted on charges of attempted murder, attempted arson and assault in the attack. He has pleaded not guilty.
Spitzer's lawyer says Twersky wasn't involved in the attack on Rottenberg.
so this is really his first public comments. a month later. nice.
Posted by: netflix | June 27, 2011 at 05:37 PM
Whatever. Tell it to the Judge and Jury under oath, Twersky.
Posted by: danny | June 27, 2011 at 06:03 PM
Wow, I never saw that one coming.
Posted by: Bench Kvetcher | June 27, 2011 at 06:12 PM
what kind of insanity is this he cant speak english needs an enterpreter.i cant beleive it he was born here in usa and doesnt speak english they should all be ashamed of themselfs but it looks like theese squarers are shameless they lost their minds all the top leaders there they should be charged with not giving their children the requierd education they are all breaking the law what an outlaw village is this square .
Posted by: jancsipista | June 27, 2011 at 06:13 PM
your tax money at work, paying the interpreter. Is this interpreter also a Skver hasid?
Posted by: visiting the sick | June 27, 2011 at 06:26 PM
There is a disconnect here. The headline purports to report a statement by Twersky in connection with a civil action, but the body of the article reports a not-guilty plea in a criminal proceeding against Spitzer.
What gives?
Posted by: MarkfromShortHills | June 27, 2011 at 06:41 PM
What gives?
Posted by: MarkfromShortHills | June 27, 2011 at 06:41 PM
I had both article open next to each other and I posted teh wrong one by mistake.
Posted by: Shmarya | June 27, 2011 at 06:46 PM
Well if the defendant says the lawsuit is without merit, what more could anyone ask?
Posted by: anuran | June 27, 2011 at 06:55 PM
Several Points...
(A) A good judge will need to prove that Rabbi Twersky advocated the violence.
(B) Getting someone to give evidence if he gave the order will prove very difficult in a sect like groupthink environment unless someone breaks ranks.
(C) If Rabbi Twersky doesn't speak English that is remarkable for two reasons.
(1)English is the world dominant language. (Sorry modern day Hebrew speakers, but nowhere in the Tanach does it state that Messianic Government will use Hebrew as its operational language. English is a remarkable language.)
(2)He has lived in the great USA for many years and should have learnt the language out of respect for the people and place. Think Mar Samuel's statement "The better the patriot the better the Jew".
Posted by: Adam Neira | June 27, 2011 at 07:35 PM
who said he doesnt speak english? i met with him once and he understood me and spoke with me just fine in perfect english...
Posted by: Gevalt! | June 27, 2011 at 07:40 PM
gevalt- then why does he need an interpreter can you please explain?
Posted by: jancsipista | June 27, 2011 at 07:45 PM
whether he is innocent or not he should have the boy excommunicated and thrown out of the yeshiva and threaten the same treatment to whomever acts with any kind of violence
Posted by: charlie runkel | June 27, 2011 at 08:12 PM
Where does it say this guy needs a interpreter?
Like Gevalt, I have met with this Rabbi a couple times and English was never been a issue.
Posted by: FormerPostvillian | June 27, 2011 at 08:23 PM
Right on Danny.
The pig Twerski needs to feel all of the pain that his victims throughout the 60 years that Twerski's gang of trash has plauged America.
Their victims include the good hardworking citizens of the neighboring town which New Skver's has exploited, the victims of violence that this filth Twerski directed his unholy wrath at, and the government which his uncivilized Rumanian-Ukranian rabble cheat and exploit constantly. The only one who seems to have an honest job out of all of them is this gentle, honest plumber who they tried to murder in cold blood. And then they have the gall to use our legal system to attempt to cover up their miserable behavior.
Our nation is unbelievably letting itself be a victim of New Skver's criminality and especially of this miserable beast Twerski.
As I've advocated before, they need to be sent back to the Ukrainian/Rumanian sewer that they crawled out of. We'll see how long Twerski and the rest of his rabble are tolerated there.
Posted by: Robert Wisler | June 27, 2011 at 08:28 PM
I believe there is general confusion caused by Shmarya's inadvertent cross-posting.
Twersky is fluent in English and does not require a translator. Spitzer, on the other hand, is not, and does.
See, e.g. http://articles.latimes.com/2001/feb/24/news/mn-29756
and particularly the following passage:
After the election, the senator-elect attended a White House meeting on Dec. 22 with the village leader, Grand Rabbi David Twersky, and the president, in which Twersky urged clemency for the convicts.
Posted by: MarkfromShortHills | June 27, 2011 at 08:28 PM
Here is what Rabbi Twersky shlita said:
"I am anguished by the heartbreaking events of this past week. ... We who have suffered so much from brutality must embody the path of peace and tranquility."
Twersky said New Square takes pride in its unity but, "Unity does not mean agreement on everything. It means the willingness to live side by side and to love one another, despite differences."
Source: haaretz.com/jewish-world/suspected-hate-crimes-case-rocks-n-y-hasidic-sect-1.365165
Above is fact. The rest is rechilut. A tip for those who post here: whoever spreads loshon hara (not to mention rehilut) looses his/her place in olam haba.
Posted by: Lazar | June 27, 2011 at 10:21 PM
Yeah, sure. I suppose he's going to say that the butler did it...
Posted by: David | June 27, 2011 at 10:29 PM
Trust me they all speak enough english to fill out a HUD and Food Stamps application.
Posted by: Wondering | June 27, 2011 at 10:40 PM
Posted by: Lazar | June 27, 2011 at 10:21 PM
you have not followed events that have been happening in skver for the last two years otherwise you would not make such a blatant stupid comment
this is not the first violent action against the people who daven elsewhere and not the first fire attempt
in addition a mans pants stolen from the mikva was hanging in the main shul for a while and the rebbie said nothing
he said nothing when the other violent attempt happned
he only spoke when the pressure was enormous since the story made the national media.
he is more angry with the people who daven in the other shul then th child molester that is his right hand man
Posted by: seymour | June 27, 2011 at 11:01 PM
whether he is innocent or not he should have the boy excommunicated and thrown out of the yeshiva and threaten the same treatment to whomever acts with any kind of violence
Posted by: charlie runkel | June 27, 2011 at 08:12 PM
never going to happen since he instigated it
he is just following his grandfather violent past
Posted by: seymour | June 27, 2011 at 11:03 PM
>>in addition a mans pants stolen from the mikva was hanging in the main shul for a while and the rebbie said nothing>...he only spoke when the pressure was enormous since the story made the national media.<<
Rabbonim have neither obligation or a custom to send messages to their members publicly via secular media. It's ridiculous to expect this. Whatever has to be said is being said directly.
Posted by: Lazar | June 28, 2011 at 07:59 PM