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Rabbi Fatally Shot Walking to Miami Synagogue

Police say murder of 60-year-old Brooklyn rabbi most likely a botched robbery

by
Stephanie Butnick
August 11, 2014
Mourners pay their respects outside the Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters during the funeral of Rabbi Joseph Raksin on August 11, 2014 in Brooklyn, N.Y. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Mourners pay their respects outside the Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters during the funeral of Rabbi Joseph Raksin on August 11, 2014 in Brooklyn, N.Y. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Joseph Raksin, a Chabad rabbi from Brooklyn visiting his daughter in Miami, was fatally shot on his way to his daughter’s synagogue Saturday morning. Miami-Dade police have said the incident, which occurred just a few blocks away from Bais Menachem in North Miami Beach, was most likely a robbery gone wrong.

According to the Miami Herald, “Raksin was walking east on Northeast 175th Street and Eighth Court at about 9 a.m. Saturday when he was confronted by two young men, police said. He was then shot by one of the men, police said.” He was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, where he died.

The Anti-Defamation League confirmed that there is no evidence the murder was a hate crime. “At this time, it appears to be a robbery that went badly,” ADL Florida Regional Director Hava Holzhauer said in a statement. “Currently no evidence has been brought to light that it was motivated by anti-Semitism.”

CBS Miami reports that Raksin’s son-in-law and grandchildren were walking several blocks behind him when he was shot.

A funeral was held for Raksin Monday morning in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Police are searching for the two suspects, who fled the scene on foot and on a bike.

Stephanie Butnick is chief strategy officer of Tablet Magazine, co-founder of Tablet Studios, and a host of the Unorthodox podcast.