Chabad HQ Stabbing Victim Lights Menorah in Solidarity With NYPD Officers (PHOTOS)
by Shiryn Ghermezian
The survivor of the December 9 stabbing attack at the iconic “770” Lubavitch headquarters in Crown Heights lit a Chanukah menorah last night in solidarity with the New York Police Department following this week’s murder of two police officers.
Levi Rosenblatt recited the traditional blessing “She’asa Nissim—Who has made miracles” and lit the seven Hanukkah lights. The gathering took place at the 71st NYPD precinct. In attendance were local Jewish residents and officers from the 71st and 77th precincts, the two station houses that protect Crown Heights.
Rosenblatt was recently released from Bellevue Hospital Center and he is still recovering from a stab wound to the head. The attack was followed by the Dec. 20 killing of NYPD officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, who were shot dead in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood by a gunman who later committed suicide.
At the private gathering on Monday, a group of yeshiva students thanked police for saving them during the attack at the Lubavitch headquarters.
Inspector George Fitzgibbon, commander of the 71st precinct, expressed appreciation for the Jewish community’s comfort and support.
“It’s like one big family,” he said. “I can’t thank you all enough.”
Barry Sugar, an advocate for security in the Jewish community, offered solidarity when talking about the murder of the two officers.
“Whether an officer is shot for wearing blue or a Jewish man is stabbed for wearing a yarmulka, we feel that pain,” he said. “The Jewish community knows what it feels like to be targeted for our uniform and values.”