NEW SQUARE — A car belonging to Aron Rottenberg - the dissident member of the Hasidic community targeted and seriously burned in a May arson attack -- was intentionally set ablaze Thursday night, law enforcement officials told The Journal News.
Hillcrest firefighters responded to Jefferson Avenue about 10:40 p.m. to find the rear of Rottenberg’s 2003 Mazda in flames, Ramapo Police Sgt. Blaine Howell said.
By the time police arrived moments later, the fire had been extinguished. No injuries were reported.
The Ramapo Police Department and the Rockland County sheriff’s arson unit are investigating the incident. Neither department offered much additional information early Friday morning.
Howell would not say who owned the car that was the center of the attack, but officials close to the investigation confirmed it to be Rottenberg’s.
The attack follows what many believed was the conclusion of difficult ordeal for the Rottenberg family.
On May 22, the Rottenberg home in New Square was attacked because Aron Rottenberg refused to pray in Grand Rabbi David Twersky’s Truman Avenue synagogue.
Rottenberg suffered third-degree burns to over 50 percent of his body as a result of the attack, burns that left him hospitalized for weeks.
Shaul Spitzer, who has admitted to throwing an incendiary device at Rottenberg, setting him on fire, pleaded guilty to first-degree assault, a felony, on Feb. 7.
Spitzer’s plea came as part of an agreement that ended Rottenberg’s civil lawsuit. It is believed that another element of the agreement includes Rottenberg receiving about $2 million in compensation from supporters of Spitzer and Grand Rabbi David Twersky.
Spitzer, 18 at the time of the attack, lived with Twersky, working as a type of butler.
Spitzer, still being held, is to be sentenced by state Supreme Court Justice William A. Kelly on April 17. He faces a maximum of 10 years in state prison. Kelly has already indicated that Spitzer will likely receive a sentence of at least five years in prison.
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