Brooklyn Mezuzah-Burning Suspect Takes to Facebook: ‘I Don’t Hate Jews’
Rubin Ubiles
A man arrested for allegedly setting mezuzahs on fire in a Brooklyn apartment building addressed the accusations on his Facebook page.
Rubin Ubiles
Rubin Ubiles, 35, was taken in for questioning on Wednesday and later arrested.
Eleven mezuzahs were set afire on Monday afternoon – the day Israel observed Holocaust Remembrance Day – in public housing located in the predominantly haredi Orthodox section of Williamsburg. The next day, a mezuzah was found burned in another building in the same development.
Ubiles has 37 past arrests for robbery, drug possession, weapons possession and grand larceny, according to media reports citing the New York Police Department.
After being named as a suspect based on security camera footage, he wrote on his Facebook page, ”When Jews burn wood and garbage on ebery(sic) corner it’s ok to pollute the surroundings.”
Another post reads, in part, ”I don’t hate Jews. I’ve worked with them for years, so why create an unnecessary problem for me when I’m on the verge of finally grow as a person?”
New York Police have been treating the incident as a hate crime.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
