Orthodox Record Executive Gunned Down in Liquor Store
Yoseph Robinson, a 34-year-old Jamaican-born hip-hop artist and record executive who converted to Orthodox Judaism, was shot to death yesterday at a kosher liquor store in the Midwood section of Brooklyn. According to eyewitness accounts, Robinson, who was on duty as a store clerk at the time, was fatally shot in the chest and arms after he tried to stop a hooded gunman from robbing his girlfriend.
The Daily News reports that Robinson wrote reggae songs inspired by verses from the Torah. According to his website, Robinson was in the midst of writing an autobiography, due out in December, which detailed his spiritual journey from drug dealer to rapper to black hat wearing Orthodox Jew. Robinson said he “turned to Judaism as a means to surrender control, accept humility, and educate.”
No arrests have been made in connection with the murder. According to news reports, over 100 Jews from the area assembled outside the store late last night to pay their respects.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
