[בילד – נישט אפגעהיט]A Truman Avenue man was severely burned Sunday in an early morning arson attack that police linked to a simmering religious feud in the Hasidic village.

Ramapo police said the victim, Aron Rottenberg, 43, suffered third-degree burns to 50 percent of his body after physically confronting an attacker carrying a rag soaked with flammable liquid behind his Truman Avenue home at 4:12 a.m.

Police later arrested 18-year-old Shaul Spitzer, of nearby Adams Lane, on felony counts of first-degree attempted arson and first-degree assault.

Police said Spitzer had serious burns to his hands and arms. He was hospitalized in Nyack before being taken to Cornell Medical Center.

Rottenberg was taken to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, police said.

Police said the Rottenberg family has previously been the target of violence and protests. The feud stems from the fact that Rottenberg worships at the Friedwald Center, not the community's main synagogue used by David Twersky, the Skver Hasidic grand rabbi and the worldwide community's dynastic leader.

On May 6, more than 100 volunteer firefighters were called out after the vacant upper floor of a Bush Lane house caught fire where another dissident family lived. The cause of another fire on Truman Avenue in September was not determined.

Rottenberg and his family had installed surveillance cameras on the two-story structure because of concerns over previous incidents, police said.

Police said Sunday they had not yet found any connection with past incidents against the family and other dissidents living in the community.

"I know there is a history there and we're aware of problems within the community," Ramapo Police Detective Lt. Mark Emma said. "We have no evidence there is a connection. We're still investigating."

Several residents who had gathered along Truman Avenue on Sunday afternoon declined to speak with a Journal News reporter.

A Ramapo police cruiser was parked in front of the Rottenberg's home. The modest two-story wooden structure that is located only two doors down from the Truman Avenue shul, a multi-story glass and stone building that towers over the neighborhood of drab apartment buildings and construction lots.

Chad Cooperman, whose father owns the New Square Fish Market on Adams Lane, said he had heard nothing about the crime and did not know either the Rottenberg or Spitzer. "About 20 families have those last names," he said.

The attack started after 4 a.m. Rottenberg's son woke up his father after hearing someone out on the porch of the family home, police said.

Four family members were at home at the time and began watching a security camera monitor when they saw a man later identified as Spitzer throw something onto their rear deck, Emma said.

The item turned out to be a rag soaked in flammable liquid intended to light the house on fire, police said. Rottenberg and his son went outside, where the father confronted Spitzer, Emma said.

"Somehow — we're not sure yet — the victim's clothes caught on fire," Emma said. "He has severe burns to his face, arms, and chest."

The Rottenberg's son rolled him on the ground to put out the flames, Emma said. Spitzer is alleged to have fled the scene before being arrested by police at 8:30 a.m.

Rockland Paramedic Services was called to the scene and found a badly burned Rottenberg sitting on the front steps of his home. He was taken to the burn unit at Westchester Medical Center.

Police said Spitzer also had serious burns to his hands and arms. He was hospitalized in Nyack before being taken to Cornel Medical Center.

Other charges against Spitzer are possible, including attempted murder or murder if Rottenberg were to die, police said.

The attack came on the first night of Lag B'Omer, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish celebration involving dancing around bonfires. Fire departments in Hillcrest, Monsey, Tallman and West Haverstraw responded to 17 trash bin and garbage can fires between 8:01 p.m. Saturday and 12:35 p.m. Sunday.

Ramapo police were later assisted by the Rockland Sheriff's Office Bureau of Criminal Investigation fire unit and the Rockland County Computer Crimes Unit.

Rabbi's follower clashes with New Square burn victim's family

9:28 PM, May. 25, 2011  |  

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New Square Burn Victim Press Conference: Attorney Michael Sussman, representing burn victim Aron Rottenberg and family members, talk about the attack on Rottenberg, May 25, 2011, because he didn't attend the community synagogue in New Square. (Video by Peter Carr

Attorney Michael Sussman, left, speaks in front of Aron Rottenberg's home in New Square May 25, 2011. He is representing Rottenberg, who is recovering from burn injuries after an attack at the home. Behind him are Rottenberg's son, Jacob, daughter, Malki Elbaum and son-in-law, Moshe Elbam.. ( Peter Carr / The Journal News )

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Shulem Sofer of New Square argues with attorney Michael Sussman, who is representing burn victim Aron Rottenberg, during Wednesday's news conference in front of Rottenberg's home in New Square. / Peter Carr/The Journal News

NEW SQUARE — Relatives of a man who was severely burned in an arson attack were shouted down by a resident of this Hasidic enclave Wednesday for going against the will of the community's grand rebbe.

A lawyer for Aron Rottenberg, the 43-year-old plumber who suffered burns on half his body Sunday, held a news conference in front of the Rottenberg home to call for state and federal investigations into the arson attack.

Lawyer Michael Sussman, joined by Rottenberg's son and son-in-law, said that Rottenberg was harassed for months by the Skver Hasidic sect that runs New Square because he would not pray at the main synagogue, as required by Grand Rebbe David Twersky.

"This is nothing other than religious bigotry," Sussman said. "If it doesn't stop, it will get worse."

Early in the news conference, a six-year New Square resident, Shulem Sofer, began screaming that Sussman was lying. He yelled out that Rottenberg broke the community's rules and that it was justifiable to try to burn down Rottenberg's home, but not to injure the man.

"The rabbi never said to do fire to people," Sofer screamed in a high-pitched voice. "It's anti-Semitism. It's anti-New Square."

Sussman countered that people in the United States are free to pray where they want, but Sofer said he followed the grand rebbe's rules.

"I am from Jew land," he said, drawing laughter from the crowd.

Rottenberg's son-in-law, Moshed Elbaum, asked Sofer what his father-in-law had done wrong. Sofer replied, "It's the wrong thing to go against the rabbi."

As close to 50 people watched, mostly men in wide-rimmed black hats, Sussman and Rottenberg's relatives retreated onto the lawn of the home, and police used tape to separate them from Sofer.

Shaul Spitzer, 18, who formerly worked in Twersky's home and is the cousin of the village's deputy mayor, has been charged with first-degree attempted arson, second-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault in the attack on Rottenberg.

שעות אחרי שהבחור שוחרר: שמעלצר הגיע לבקר הפצוע

שעות לאחר שעסקני סקווירא הצליחו לשחרר הבחור שפצע את אהרון רוטנברג - לאחר שפתח מניין נפרד, הגיע הזמר ליפא שמעלצר, חסיד סקווירא, לבקר את רוטנברג בבית-החולים. האברך הפצוע, נאנק מכאבי-תופת בבית-החולים לאחר שנכווה בכל חלקי גופות. שמעלצר שר לו שירי חיזוק (בעולם)

רוטנברג בבית-חולים. משמאל: האדמו"ר (דובי קורן)

לראשונה מאז הותקף האברך בעיירה ניו-סקווער, מגנה כ"ק האדמו"ר מסקווירא את המעשה החמור ומפציר בחסידיו להתפלל לרפואתו.

בשיחה שנשא הרבי לפני מספר שעות לבחורי הישיבה שערכו ס"סיום" על מספר מסכתות בש"ס, יצא האדמו"ר באמירה נחרצת וגינה את תקיפתו של רוטנברג.

האדמו"ר אמר לתלמידים: "אני מבקש מכולכם להתפלל לרפואתו השלימה והמהירה של האברך שנפצע". 

צריך לדעת, הוסיף הרבי, כי הדרך של סקווירא אף פעם לא היתה שימוש באלימות.

"חג השבועות הוא זמן של רפואה ויהי רצון שיתקיים בעיירה כאן "ויחן ישראל" כאיש אחד בלב אחד", סיים האדמו"ר את דבריו.

היהדות החרדית סוערת מאז מוצ"ש האחרון, לאחר שהאברך אהרון רוטנברג המתגורר בשיכון החסידי נפצע קשה בכל חלקי גופו מבקבוק תבערה שהשליך לעבר ביתו.

האברך עדיין מאושפז בבית החולים, וההערכה היא כי הרקע למעשה היא החלטתו של רוטנברג לפתוח מניין נפרד לתפילה בשבתות וחגים, בניגוד לדעתו של האדמו"ר ובסתירה לתקנות המקום.

בימים האחרונים גינו את המעשה גם בד"ץ סקווירא וראשי הקהילה שהוציאו מכתב מפורט שתקף את הפעולה הנוראה.

למרות זאת, עד עתה לא היתה התייחסות ישירה של האדמו"ר עצמו לנושא הרגיש. אתמול, כאמור, זה קרה לראשונה.