(JTA) — Hundreds attended the funeral in Miami for Rabbi Joseph Raksin, an Orthodox rabbi from Brooklyn who was shot and killed on his way to Sabbath services in North Miami Beach.
Following the funeral Sunday at the Bais Menachem Chabad synagogue, where Raksin was headed when he was shot by two assailants on Saturday morning, the body was taken to the airport, the Miami Herald reported. A funeral and burial will take place Monday afternoon in Brooklyn.
Raksin, 60, had arrived on Thursday in Miami for a weeklong visit with his daughter and her family, the New York Post reported. Raksin is the father of six and a leader in the Crown Heights community, according to the Post.
Police said Raksin was shot several times following an altercation, though witnesses told NBC reporters that there was no altercation and the assailants were African-American males. Raksin was airlifted to Ryder Trauma Center, where he died.
Miami-Dade police have said they do not believe the murder was a hate crime but rather a robbery gone bad. Members of Miami’s Jewish community are offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Raksin’s assailants, according to the Miami Herald.
A nearby synagogue, Torah V’Emunah, was the target of vandalism on July 28, with swastikas and the word “Hamas” spray-painted on the front pillars.
