Pod Save America Hosts Call on Democrats to Cut All Israel Military Aid, No Longer Accept AIPAC Funding
Jews, Israelis Targeted in Austria Amid Surge in Antisemitic Incidents; Local Jewish Community Calls for Action
‘All of Our Strength’: Over 1,000 Pro-Israel Activists Gather in DC for Solidarity Conference
‘Devastated’: Wesley LePatner, Killed in Manhattan Mass Shooting, Was a Jewish Communal, Philanthropic Leader
Sen. Angus King Vows to No Longer Vote for Israel Military Aid Until Gaza Conditions Improve
Europe Won’t Pressure Israel to ‘Commit Suicide’ Amid Gaza Backlash, Palestinian State Push, Says Israeli FM
Israel’s National Soccer Coach Attacked in Athens Before Soccer Fans Chant ‘F–K Israel, Free Palestine’ at Match
New York Judge Sentences Neo-Nazi to 5 Years for Livestreaming Bomb Threats Against Jewish Hospitals
US Pressures Lebanon to Issue Cabinet Decision to Disarm Hezbollah Before Talks Continue
UK Plans to Recognize Palestinian State in September Unless Israel Meets Conditions, Starmer Says
Miami Teen Indicted for 2014 Murder of Rabbi on Way to Synagogue
by Shiryn Ghermezian
Rabbi Joseph Raksin, who was killed on his way to synagogue last year. Photo: Crownheights.info.
A Florida teenager was arrested on Wednesday for the murder last year of a rabbi on his way to synagogue, the Miami Herald reported.
Deandre Charles, 15, was brought to Miami-Dade police headquarters for questioning by homicide detectives, police said. He is suspected of the Aug. 9, 2014 killing of Brooklyn, NY Rabbi Joseph Raksin, who had been visiting Florida when he was shot on his way to Shabbat services at Bais Menachem Chabad.
It is believed that Raksin, an Orthodox rabbi — who therefore was not carrying money that day — was the target of a robbery.
A grand jury indicted Charles, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, and charged him with first-degree murder. Law-enforcement sources said DNA and eyewitness testimony pointed to Charles as the perpetrator. State records show the teen had a previous brush with the law in August 2012, when he was arrested for grand theft in Miami Beach.
“We’ve heard about the case previously, of course if they did this, they’ve been investigating this prior,” said Charles’ stepfather, Willis Archibald. “So they did investigate him. They spoke to him a few times prior, last year, and they made it seem like everything was over, everything was fine and now this.”
Yona Lunger, a Miami-Dade Jewish community activist and member of the neighborhood watch group Shmira Patrol, said Wednesday morning that “a weight was lifted off everyone’s shoulders” following the suspect’s arrest.
