The gunman who opened fire on a van filled with ultra-Orthodox Jews on the Brooklyn Bridge in 1994 has reportedly finally admitted he wanted to kill Jews.

After years of spinning excuses, Rashid Baz told investigators he fired on the van, killing 16-year-old Ari Halberstam, on March 1, 1994 to avenge Israeli actions against the Palestinians, the New York Post reported.

Baz, a livery cab driver, denied that anti-Semitism was a motive and claimed he suffered from post-traumatic stress from growing up during the Lebanese civil war. A jury rejected that claim. He was convicted and is serving 141 years in prison.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

In 2007, Baz finally confessed to the real reason for the attack, saying he followed the van filled with Jewish students because of an earlier West Bank attack by Israeli settlers on Palestinians.

Asked if he would have shot at a van of black or Latino people, Baz replied, “No, I only shot them because they were Jewish,” the paper said, without elaborating.

A ramp to the bridge was later renamed in memory of Halberstam.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/killer_jews_my_target_gOgyDs9rPP92Z5irIUqK1H#ixzz1qESfx89w

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount