Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams joined Jewish community leaders and local elected officials to condemn the New York Post’s hateful coverage of the murder of Menachem “Max” Stark, a 39-year-old father of eight children from the Hasidic community of Williamsburg.
Along with reporting that alleged him to be a crooked slumlord, the Post’s cover featured a picture of Stark next to the headline, “Who didn’t want him dead?”
“We stand as One Brooklyn in condemnation of the New York Post’s coverage of the murder of Menachem Stark,” said Borough President Adams.
“Above all else, this was a husband, a father and a member of a community that sits in mourning over his tragic passing. The New York Post’s decision to hang him in effigy on the cover of today’s paper, just hours after his family has begun to sit shiva, is a betrayal of the journalistic integrity that its readership deserves. I am calling for the New York Post to publish a formal apology to the Stark family in tomorrow’s paper.”
Elected officials in attendance included Public Advocate Letitia James, Assembly Member Joe Lentol, Council Members Laurie Cumbo, Chaim Deutsch, David Greenfield, Steve Levin and Mark Treyger as well as Rockland County Legislature Majority Leader Aaron Weider.
“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the incredibly insensitive and crass cover of today’s New York Post which mocks the kidnapping and brutal murder of Menachem Stark,” said State Senator Simcha Felder. “The Post must issue an immediate apology to the Stark family and to all New Yorkers for its egregious behavior and failure to exercise any judgment whatsoever in this matter.”
“I am disgusted that the New York Post condoned the murder of a businessman, husband and father of eight,” said Greenfield. “This clearly crosses the bounds of decency and demands an immediate apology from the newspaper to the grieving family and the entire community. The murder of an innocent man is not something to be celebrated in New York City. It’s a horrific tragedy and the Post’s coverage of this death is borderline anti-Semitic.”
“The New York Post’s unbelievably offensive headline this morning comes the day after Mr. Stark’s family and children, as well as an entire community, laid him to rest and are still mourning his death,” said Levin. “For the New York Post to suggest that a person deserved to be murdered is sickening and reaches a new low. The entire community is outraged by such a vulgar headline that is so offensive and horrific. The New York Post should pull their story and issue an apology to the family and community that are still in mourning.”
Jewish community leaders in attendance included Chair Yidel Perlstein of Community Board 12, Rabbi David Niederman of the UJO of Williamsburg, Rabbi Yeruchim Silber of the Boro Park Jewish Community Council (JCC), Shea Rubinstein of the JCC of Marine Park, Rabbi Moshe Indig of the JCC of Williamsburg, Rabbi Chanina Sperlin of the Crown Heights JCC, Meny Hoffman of Bonai Olam, Jacob Itzkowitz of the Williamsburg Shomrim, Yanki Daskel of the Boro Park Shomrim, Rabbi Abe Friedman of Williamsburg and Rabbi Joel Eisdofer of Boro Park.
They announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the murder of Stark, whose smoldering body was found in a dumpster in Long Island, following his abduction Thursday night outside his real estate office in Brooklyn.
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This is a community united in grief and shock, as the blacks can well related to this type of treatment, unfortunately. We all must stand together and bring down the horrific sensationalist paper of so called journalism.
Someone was killed and were protesting the news??? How about protesting the ones who killed him in the first place? Priorities seem a bit messed up.. The murderers are laughing at the way they get no blame.
The headline is insensitive, and it was designed to sell newspapers. The intent of the headline is not that he deserved to die. It’s saying that it’s difficult for the police to start looking for his killers because he (allegedly) had so many enemies.
Do not think that the victim was at all innocent. Alot of the chassidishers do the same thing he did and its wrong even according to Torah. That being said I dont want anyone thinking that I say he deserved what happen to him. No one deserves that.
And does he legitimize and condone the knockout attacks against Jews at the same time??
Just wondering.
I NEVER intended to use my curse at the Post to include ANY Yid ח”ו
Nothing else to say.
But I believe the post is a conservative paper. But do you think it’s inappropriate to use this moment to push your politics. It’s completely horrible what the post wrote, but his crimes were not being wealthy, they were being a cheat. Unless you somehow feel there are no ill gotten gains. Obviously he did not deserve to end this way and the post should respect this time of mourning, but this is what we have come to expect from the post (conservative newspaper). No class
This newspaper is violating the right of free speech by spreading hatred & inciting racism
Where is Bill D’Blasio on this? So many murders since he took office.
terrible circumstances, but I hope the family gets at least a tiny bit of nechama from the support shown at this gathering.
A place where one of the first rules of kindergarten- ‘now children, there’s never an excuse for murder’- was somehow displaced for the greater good that ‘a wealthy Jew has no right to life’.
#6 we don’t ever reference Yemach Shemo 2 a yid! (Excpt rare cases) which u did by equating ur targets with the Post.
BS”D I agree with # 6 You bash a real friend of the neighborhood, always there for us and don’t even consider if he maybe was under the weather or maybe had a Bar Mitzvah of his grandson etc. Pathetic.
Today I was proud to call Eric Adams my friend he has always been at the forefront of all causes dealing with the integrity and decency of mankind
BS”D
on the other hand this publicity will insure that the police leave no stone unturned to catch the culprits of this hideous crime
You are ר”ל no better then the Post ימ”ש
using this tragedy to knock a Jew (Dov Hikind).
SAD JUST CANT BELIEVE IN MY NEIGHBOR HOOD GREAT NECK CAN SUCH A TRAGEDY HAPPEN. MY CONDOLENCE TO THE FAMILY AND I KNOW THE POLICE WILL GET THIER MAN ESPECIALLY IN GREAT NECK.PEACE TO ALL THAT ARE EFFECTED. ALSO BOYCOTT POST WHERE IT HURTS THEM. DONT READ IT PERIOD.
State senator simcha felder? Since when did he become a state senator
I was wondering the same thing. Hikind never misses an opportunity for a photo op.
If we want anyone DEAD its the NY Post newspaper they should end up smoldering in their ruins and buried in their headlines they should be thrown out of the stores and flooded with problems from top to bottom they shall be plagued with scandals and explode in shame.
Why don’t we see Dov Hikind???
Interestingly absent.