According to the Associated Press, police are saying that the murder of Rabbi Joseph Raksin by two black men in North Miami was probably not a hate crime but a robbery that exploded into murder.
Around 9:00 a.m. Saturday, Rabbi Raksin was walking toward the synagogue of Bais Menachem Chabad when two young, black males approached him. After an exchange they reportedly shot Raksin, who died after being airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Breitbart News reported that the shooting followed on the heels of several anti-Semitic acts of vandalism in the area. The word “Hamas” had been spray-painted on the pillars of a nearby synagogue, and “Hamas” and “Jew” had been written on cars owned by local Jews. The vicinity of these acts to the shooting prompted speculation that the shooting was also ethnically motivated.
Miami-Dade police spokeswoman Elena Hernandez, however, has stated there is “no indication” the crime was a hate crime, and her opinion was echoed by the Anti-Defamation League, which said lead investigators implied the crime was the result of a failed robbery.
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