The lawyer for Aron Rottenberg, the New Square man seriously burned in an arson attack on his home, said that he would file a lawsuit today that contends New Square's grand rebbe is responsible for a campaign of intimidation against Rottenberg that sparked the attack.
Lawyer Michael Sussman said Sunday that Rottenberg is committed to breaking Grand Rebbe David Twersky's hold on power over everything that happens in the ultrainsular Hasidic village.
"That control, if it is going to be exerted as it has been, has to end," Sussman said.
Rottenberg, 43, who suffered third-degree burns over half his body during the May 22 attack, will have a major procedure today at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla to remove wrappings that cover most of his body, Sussman said.
He said Rottenberg, who had his second skin graft Tuesday, has been in great discomfort.
Still, Rottenberg hopes to return home to New Square by the end of the week, Sussman said, in part to take a stand against those who tried to intimidate him for praying at a nursing home instead of the village's main synagogue, as required by Twersky.
"It's a question of what happens when they uncover the skin," Sussman said.
The 70-year-old Twersky has headed the Skver Hasidic sect that runs New Square since 1968. He is regarded by his followers as a mystical figure with a close connection to God.
The case has fascinated many in the outside world who know little about New Square or its way of life, which prizes conformity and spurns most expressions of individualism.
Many residents of New Square, while condemning violence, have blamed Rottenberg for instigating trouble. Some have complained of "terrorism" directed at mild dissenters, saying that a group of a dozen or two young men sometimes resort to violence to defend the grand rebbe's wishes.
Rottenberg was injured after encountering a man approaching his home at 4 a.m. with an incendiary device.
The suspect in the case, Shaul Spitzer, 18, had lived in Twersky's home for more than a year, serving as an aide.
Spitzer was charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree attempted arson and first-degree assault. He was released on $300,000 bail, but is being treated in a New York City hospital for burns suffered during the arson attack.
Sussman said the lawsuit, to be filed in Rockland County Supreme Court, will make the case that a pattern of vandalism and intimidation against Rottenberg's family was endorsed by New Square's leaders.
"It is our belief that the grand rabbi has responsibility for that, as does Mr. Spitzer," he said.
At issue is to what degree Spitzer was inspired, or even encouraged, by New Square leaders who are intensely devoted to Twersky or even by Twersky himself.
Twersky rarely speaks publically and did not condemn the violent attack on Rottenberg until four days later, doing so in a talk to students.
Sussman said that a future lawsuit will contend that Ramapo police and local government failed to act to protect Rottenberg.
Police said June 3 that the FBI had joined the investigation, looking into not only the arson attack but events that may have led up to it.
Rottenberg and his family faced a pattern of harassment — noted in police reports — since September, when he began to pray at a nearby nursing home rather than in New Square's main synagogue.
From the start, community leaders told Rottenberg that his decision was unacceptable. A letter distributed in November by New Square's leadership and rabbinical court said that it was a severe violation not to worship at the main synagogue.
Over the ensuing months, their home and cars were vandalized, Rottenberg's daughter was expelled from school and the family received various threats.
Rottenberg, a father of four, even told The Journal News in November that he feared for his safety.
His family hired Sussman, a high-profile and often blunt civil rights lawyer, days after the arson attack. Sussman began immediately pressing for a federal investigation, saying that local police and politicians were too close to and fearful of New Square's leaders to conduct a fair investigation of their own.
Twersky, like grand rebbes of other Hasidic enclaves, has authority over all significant ways of life in his community.
Many Hasidic Jews see their grand rebbe as having a direct channel to God and as serving as an intermediary for them with God. So his word is rarely questioned.
Hasidic communities also disdain any form of dissent, which is seen as a threat to the community's unity.
"As a matter of principle, Hasidim believe themselves bound to an obligation of absolute obedience to the rebbe in every aspect of life," said Nomi Stolzenberg, a University of Southern California law professor who is co-authoring a book about the Kiryas Joel Hasidic community in Orange County. "Out of that model of leadership came the kind of enclave we see in New Square."
New Square is a fast-growing and exceedingly young community. Its population grew by 50 percent to 6,944 people between 2000 and 2010.
The median age of its residents is only 13 — at least 10 years younger than any non-Hasidic community in the state — thanks to many young couples having five to 10 children.
New Square is in the East Ramapo school district, but all children attend private schools and yeshivas.
Twersky's father, Rabbi Yaakov Yosef Twersky, founded New Square in 1954 with a few dozen families, including many Holocaust survivors.
The enclave was incorporated as a village in 1961.
Spitzer was charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree attempted arson and first-degree assault. He was released on $300,000 bail, but is being treated in a New York City hospital for burns suffered during the arson attack.
Sussman said the lawsuit, to be filed in Rockland County Supreme Court, will make the case that a pattern of vandalism and intimidation against Rottenberg's family was endorsed by New Square's leaders.
"It is our belief that the grand rabbi has responsibility for that, as does Mr. Spitzer," he said.
At issue is to what degree Spitzer was inspired, or even encouraged, by New Square leaders who are intensely devoted to Twersky or even by Twersky himself.
Twersky rarely speaks publically and did not condemn the violent attack on Rottenberg until four days later, doing so in a talk to students.
Sussman said that a future lawsuit will contend that Ramapo police and local government failed to act to protect Rottenberg.
Police said June 3 that the FBI had joined the investigation, looking into not only the arson attack but events that may have led up to it.
Rottenberg and his family faced a pattern of harassment — noted in police reports — since September, when he began to pray at a nearby nursing home rather than in New Square's main synagogue.
From the start, community leaders told Rottenberg that his decision was unacceptable. A letter distributed in November by New Square's leadership and rabbinical court said that it was a severe violation not to worship at the main synagogue.
Over the ensuing months, their home and cars were vandalized, Rottenberg's daughter was expelled from school and the family received various threats.
Rottenberg, a father of four, even told The Journal News in November that he feared for his safety.
His family hired Sussman, a high-profile and often blunt civil rights lawyer, days after the arson attack.
Sussman began immediately pressing for a federal investigation, saying that local police and politicians were too close to and fearful of New Square's leaders to conduct a fair investigation of their own.
Twersky, like grand rebbes of other Hasidic enclaves, has authority over all significant ways of life in his community.
Many Hasidic Jews see their grand rebbe as having a direct channel to God and as serving as an intermediary for them with God. So his word is rarely questioned.
Hasidic communities also disdain any form of dissent, which is seen as a threat to the community's unity.
"As a matter of principle, Hasidim believe themselves bound to an obligation of absolute obedience to the rebbe in every aspect of life," said Nomi Stolzenberg, a University of Southern California law professor who is co-authoring a book about the Kiryas Joel Hasidic community in Orange County. "Out of that model of leadership came the kind of enclave we see in New Square."
New Square is a fast-growing and exceedingly young community. Its population grew by 50 percent to 6,944 people between 2000 and 2010.
The median age of its residents is only 13 — at least 10 years younger than any non-Hasidic community in the state — thanks to many young couples having five to 10 children.
New Square is in the East Ramapo school district, but all children attend private schools and yeshivas.
Twersky's father, Rabbi Yaakov Yosef Twersky, founded New Square in 1954 with a few dozen families, including many Holocaust survivors.
The enclave was incorporated as a village in 1961.
and pray that the rabbis grandson who got molested a speedy recovery
ReplyDeletewonderful!
ReplyDeletebest news ever.
good for you mr. sussman and congratulations mr. rottenberg.
i hope you are referring to st. lawrence and brower as next on the hit parade.
but be careful of the rockland county court system. they are as crooked as the people you are suing.