Some 1500 Orthodox Jews attending an anti-crime rally in the Boro Park section of Brooklyn last night were urged to get legal firearms to protect themselves against increasing crime in their area.
Heshy Friedman of the Jewish Athletic Club of Brooklyn, the organizer of the demonstration, said the rally was called because of a wave of beatings, holdups and shootings during the last two three weeks. He said the climax come yesterday morning when Simcha Lefkowitz, a 65-year-old Hasidic Jew, was shot from a passing car as he was walking to the synagogue. Lefkowitz was reported in fair condition in Maimonides Hospital. Nine days earlier a 72-year-old Hasidic Jew was shot in the arm by a man in a passing car as he walked along a deserted street.
The rally last night was held in front of the offices of the Jewish Community Council of Brooklyn. Friedman said this was to protest the Council’s inaction.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.