Powered By Blogger

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Friends of slain Beachwood nurse Aliza Sherman gather downtown to offer reward, keep alive her memory



A crowd of about 80 of Aliza Sherman’s friends and family gathered near the site of the Beachwood woman’s murder to not only announce a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of her killer, but also to keep alive her memory.
Emotions ran high the morning of April 9 as those assembled remembered Sherman, 53, near the downtown Cleveland Erieview Tower parking garage off East 12th Street where an assailant stabbed her 11 times.
“We have to raise community awareness for our beautiful friend, Aliza,” said Mary Feuer, a Beachwood resident who knew Sherman 22 years.
Sherman was in the midst of divorcing husband, Sanford, a divorce that had dragged on nearly three years. Sherman had just had a meeting with her divorce lawyer when she was attacked in the garage at about 5:30 p.m. March 24.
Police have released no further statements pertaining to the investigation.
“We’re not going to let this go,” Feuer said, her voice cracking with emotion. “We can’t sleep.
Jan Lash met Aliza Sherman 28 years ago when they took Lamaze class together. Lash considered Sherman her best friend and said Sherman called her from Cedar Road hill on the way to her final visit with her lawyer.
“Whoever did this is a monster and doesn’t have a soul,” said Lash, of Solon. “I’ll never be the same.
“I talked to her every day. It was an awful divorce. She apologized to me for being so down.”
Sherman was the mother of four, ages 28, 25, 23 and 17, and was known for her deep Jewish faith and love of animals.
“I have a lot of sadness for her children who are suffering so much,” Feuer said. Then, speaking to anyone who might know something about the murder, Feuer said, “Please step forward and do the right thing.”
KL3280411c.jpgSolon resident Jan Lash, who considered Aliza Sherman her best friend, is pictured in this undated photo, at right, with Sherman. Photo courtesy of Jan Lash. 
Dr. Hanna Lisbona, of Pepper Pike, met Sherman when Lisbona began her residency 30 years ago at Mt. Sinai Hospital. Lisbona and Sherman also worked together at Cleveland Clinic, where Sherman was an in vitro fertilization nurse at the time of her death.
“She was a wonderful person,” Lisbona said. “I learned a lot from here. We all did.
“She always knew how to say thank you, to make you feel good. She was very considerate, gentle and loving.”
Lisbona said she was in Israel when she learned through text messages of her friend’s death.
“My sister lives in Washington, D.C., and when I told my sister about what happened, she knew immediately who I was talking about when I said Aliza because I talked about her so much.”
The Friends of Aliza Sherman have raised $23,000 in reward money. Crime Stoppers of Cuyahoga County Coordinator David Rutt said that money, added to the $2,000 Crime Stoppers’ reward, means someone could earn up to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer.
“They can give us a call and remain anonymous,” Rutt said.
The Crime Stoppers number is 216-252-7463.
“We just want any information,” Lash said. “Somebody knows something, or somebody will brag or talk about doing it. We just want to hear something.”
See more Beachwood news at cleveland.com/beachwood.

216-986-5862
Twitter: @JeffPiorkowski

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

$25,000.00 reward for information on murder of Aliza Sherman



The reward has reached $25,000 for information on the murder of Aliza Sherman March 24 outside the Galleria at Erieview.

The Friends of Aliza Sherman have joined with Crime Stoppers of Cuyahoga County in an effort to catch the person or persons responsible for her brutal murder.

The Friends of Aliza Sherman, according to friend Mary Fuery, are offering up to $23,000 and Crime Stoppers is offering up to $2,000, for information leading to the arrest and conviction.
Police have no suspects at this time.
Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers at 216-252-7463 or visit the Crime Stoppers web site www.25crime.com and leave a confidential web tip.
With Crime Stoppers, you never give your name -- you remain anonymous.

Rabbi Lau in Aushwitz on Yom Hashoah! March of the Living 2013


Yeshiva University Law School Will Honor the Anti-Semite Jimmy Carter YM"S



On Wednesday, the Journal of Conflict Resolution at Yeshiva University's Cardozo School of Law will bestow an award on former president Jimmy Carter. The award, chosen by the students who run the journal, has stirred intense controversy at the historically Jewish institution, given Carter's embrace of the anti-Israel movement in recent years and his eager association with openly antisemitic leaders in the Arab and Muslim world.

A group of Cardozo alumni, calling itself the Coalition of Concerned Cardozo Alumni, has established a website, shameoncardozo.com, that summarizes the case against Carter, including an image of him interacting warmly with Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader in Gaza and Palestinian Authority prime minister who is responsible for ongoing terror attacks targeting Israeli civilians. Carter's error-filled 2006 book Palestine: Peace not Apartheid blamed Israel for the flagging peace process and placed him on the margins of debate on the issue.
Yeshiva University and Cardozo administrators deny any association with the decision to grant Carter an award. Lori Lowenthal Marcus of The Jewish Press reports that despite reassurances by Dean Matthew Diller that he would not be at the ceremony, "a letter obtained by The Jewish Press that was sent by Dean Diller to certain 'high roller' alumni inviting them to the event made clear...Diller plans to be front and center at the event."
The school's Journal of Conflict Resolution has stirred controversy in the past. Broadcaster and Cardozo alumnus Yishai Fleisher recalls that ten years ago, the journal chose to honor Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who had taken a vitriolic, and in some respects antisemitic, stance against Israel. Fleisher encouraged opponents of the Carter award to mount a vigorous protest against the ceremony rather than shut down the event itself.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Lipa Shmeltzer has his own "Shtetel" in Airmont, Video


Lipa is the man, has his own littlle town, where everybody is accepted, isn't that what the Baal Shem Tov really wanted? How far have the Chassidim gone away from the real purpose of being a Chasid?
see this inspiring video!

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Jamie Geller, former Monsey resident doing mini-series "Joy of Israel" Video

Jamie Geller
Never before has the beauty of Israel been showcased for the world to see in reality TV format with the mission of educating, exciting and connecting people to Israel. This new series will reshape the entire image of living in Israel into one that is exciting, inspiring, and beautiful.

That is what Joy of Israel with Jamie Geller is all about! (and you can see for yourself in Episode #1 above, that we just launched!)

It is an online web video series, that will be converted into a feature length film for both film festivals and TV Specials, giving a face-lift to the image of living in Israel, for people worldwide.

Jamie Geller’s successful web video series “Joy of Aliyah” garnered over 145,000 video views on YouTube and generated great interest and excitement for Israel and aliyah. Due to popular demand, a new series “Joy of Israel with Jamie Geller” will capitalize on the “Israel” buzz created by its predecessor and will follow Jamie and her family’s first year in Israel, now showcasing the joy of living in Israel.

Most importantly, the series will capitalize on the medium of food throughout as a vehicle to open up Israeli life and culture to viewers. This will be accomplished by visiting noteworthy culinary locales in Israel – restaurants, vineyards, dairies, farmer’s markets etc… sharing a behind-the-scenes look at how Jamie is expanding her food media and marketing company in Israel to include photo shoots, test kitchen access, industry conferences and trade show exhibitions… and meeting and showcasing various Israeli personalities both prominent and undiscovered sharing both their stories and a day in their lives.

Each episode will be hosted by Jamie with her trademark warm, generous, personable personality that viewers have come to expect. Jamie will be meeting, sharing, showcasing, learning, laughing and crying with her new friends... revealing 

to the world, the real Joy of Israel.
See http://jewcer.com/project/joy-of-israel-with-jamie-geller

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Islamists implement lashing punishment in Libyan town


Moshe Stern, Satmar Chassid takes down Spring Valley Mayor

Moshe Stern's house in Monsey


Moshe Stern making a L'chayim

A chasidic Jew from Rockland County has been identified as the cooperating witness who helped the FBI uncover a massive plot to rig the 2013 New York City mayoral race and led to the arrest of six politicians who allegedly accepted bribes.
Multiple NYC media outlets are reporting Morris Stern as the witness who was instrumental in pulling together the arrests of Senator Malcolm Smith of Queens, City Councilman Dan Halloran of Queens, Bronx GOP chairman Joseph Savino,  Queens GOP vice president Vincent Tabone and Mayor Noramie Jasmin and Deputy Mayor Joseph Desmaret, both of Spring Valley, as previously reported on VIN News.
According to an article in 2010 by Forbes.com, (http://onforb.es/txZ5HN) the 40 year old Stern who is also known as Mark Stern or Moshe Stern is a Monsey resident who was born in Argentina.
Originally in the garment business, Stern moved on to the real estate business and is described in media accounts as a real estate developer. Stern graduated Satmar Yeshiva United Talmudical Academy in Kirays Joel in 1991.
Stern made headlines in 2007 when he defaulted on loans he took out from Citigroup in excess of $100 million, several years after two companies that he owned went bankrupt.  The matter sparked a complicated federal criminal investigation and the New York Post reported (http://bit.ly/Xp5lCS) that Stern pleaded guilty in federal court three weeks ago as part of his cooperation deal.
Stern and the undercover FBI agent led the politicians involved to believe that they were wealthy developers looking for to curry favor and would use their economic resources to help Smith bribe his way into City Hall in exchange for political favors that would pave the way for their upstate development projects.

Spring Valley Mayor Arrested




Mayor Noramie Jasmin said Wednesday of the bribery case against her: “We will vigorously defend against those charges to restore my good name.”
Reading a statement at a brief news conference at Village Hall, she also asked the community “not to prejudge me, rather to keep me in your prayers for my good name to restore.”
Jasmin said she could not discuss the charges in the FBI probe on advice of counsel.
She did not say if she would resign as mayor.
She left the podium after making her statement and did not take any questions.

The case that upended New York City politics and could spell doom for state Sen. Malcolm Smith began in a Rockland County village with one-tenth the population of Smith’s legislative district in Queens.
There, in Spring Valley, on a humid August day in 2011, Mayor Noramie Jasmin allegedly met with a federal informant to chew over plans for the village to seize some land along Route 59 and sell it to a preferred bidder.
First the mayor was allegedly planning to rig the competition for a new development.
“The one that I like I’m going to pick,” Jasmin said in a conversation recorded by the FBI. “So if I like yours, I pick you . . . If I don’t like it, you can stick [it] where the sun doesn’t shine.”
Then Jasmin was allegedly looking for a secret payday from the construction of a community center the village board would have to approve.
Together, the projects are now the backbone of the Smith scandal.
Over 18 months, the shady Rockland land deals would rope in Smith — then travel the Thruway back down to New York City, eventually blowing the lid off what the feds say was an unprecedented plot to rig the 2013 race for mayor.
On Feb. 13, 2012, Jasmin — in office since 2009 — met the informant at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Suffern to lay out her terms, the feds charge. As the FBI recorded the conversation, Jasmin allegedly said she wanted to be a “partner, to build it together.”
She allegedly explained that, with her help, local zoning approvals for the community center would “go smoothly for you. That’s it.”
t the same time, Smith was allegedly running his own shady deals that he thought would land him the job as Mayor Bloomberg’s successor. To Smith, the informant — identified as Morris Stern of Rockland County — and an undercover FBI agent posing as developers looked like sugar daddies who could make his dream come true.
In return for helping them up in Spring Valley, the “developers” were allegedly going to pay off Republican leaders in New York City so they would clear the way for Smith to get on the GOP mayoral ballot.
Jasmin declined to discuss the allegations against her today.
"We will vigorously defend against these charges to restore my good name. I'm asking the community not to prejudge me, rather to keep me in your prayers for my good name to restore. Thank you and I thank you from the bottom of my heart."
Yesterday, the feds refused to explain what first drew Smith to Spring Valley and how the senator connected his alleged ballot-rigging plot to Jasmin’s alleged land-deal scheme.
On Feb. 14, 2012, the feds claim, Jasmin and Stern got back together at the Crowne Plaza, where she insisted she needed the secret partnership stake in the real- estate deal.
A month later, they were still allegedly haggling over their unholy alliance as the feds recorded every word.
Back at the Crowne Plaza on March 20, 2012, the feds claim, the developer suggested Jasmin’s stake would be only 20 percent, and Jasmin was insulted.
“Partnership is 50-50, right?” the Spring Valley mayor allegedly said, adding how the partnership papers would be filed and offering to pay the $600 fee.
At that meeting, the feds claim, Jasmin started going through the script, telling the developer how he and his “partner” would play their roles when they appeared in front of the village board.
gedly said.
“I will tell you ahead of t
ime this is how you have to present it, this is how, what we have to do,” she alle
Back in New York City, Smith was allegedly working out his own arrangements with Stern and the undercover FBI agent.
The senator said he would allegedly reel in $500,000 in state funding to aid the real-estate project in Spring Valley and the “developers” would pay bribes to city GOP leaders in return.
Smith, a powerful Democrat, wanted to run for mayor as a Republican and he needed at least three city Republican borough chairmen to support him in order to get on their ballot, according to the feds.
Smith allegedly decided to buy the necessary support in a plot that would culminate in the early-morning arrests yesterday of both Smith and city Councilman Dan Halloran — along with Jasmin, her deputy mayor, Joseph Desmaret, and two GOP leaders from the city.
Prosecutors said that on Feb. 10, Smith materialized at a Manhattan hotel room, bodyguard in tow, to meet with a federal informant and an undercover FBI agent — as the feds listened in.
The senator allegedly informed his would-be sugar daddies that it would take just $200,000 to get him on the GOP ballot. The trio talked about structuring the payments so the party leaders “who have financial needs” would “be taken care of.” They said those “needs” included home-mortgage payments and even college tuition for one of the officials’ kids.
Smith directed them on how to divvy up the cash.
”I wouldn’t give them more than like 10, just to, just to start out,” federal documents show. He also explained how there would be “no trace back” from the money.
That business over, the trio’s attention turned back north, to Spring Valley. The informant and the agent, posing as developers, “asked Smith to direct $500,000 in New York state funding to the real estate project.”
It’s “doable,” Smith reported. He said he would enlist the local senator “to help get the funding allocated in the state budget.”
On March 21, the undercover agent, the cooperator and the senator had gathered in Smith’s Albany office, where the senator explained where he’d be finding the state funding to aid their Spring Valley land deal.
“Multi-modal money is outside the budget and it’s always around,” Smith allegedly said.
By last week, FBI agents and prosecutors were finishing their plans for the sweep they pulled off at 6 a.m. yesterday. They put together an operational plan and a criminal complaint with incredible detail designed to prove to the public how strong their case is.
“Everyone’s entitled to the presumption of innocence,” said one lawyer who knows some of the politicians charged yesterday. “But this looks really, really bad.”
Six suspects appeared in White Plains federal court yesterday afternoon, looking tired and expressionless. They were ordered to turn over their passports and told there were now restrictions on where they can travel in the state.
They were ordered to give urine samples and are due back in court on April 23.

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Aliza Sherman, the nurse that was murdered called 911 herself



Aliza Sherman, a Beachwood woman who was killed in Cleveland Sunday, called 9-1-1 to report the attack herself before someone heard her yelling and came to help.
In the call, Sherman asked for help. "Help me... Erieview 55. Help me, I've been attacked," she said.
Police said that Sherman was found with possible stab wounds.
The dispatcher asked for an apartment number and she repeated the address and asked again for help. Then, the line disconnected.
The call lasted less than 40 seconds. 
Another cell phone call, which can be heard in the video to the right, was placed to emergency dispatch within a minute: a man reporting that he heard Sherman screaming from his office and came out to help.
"Hurry, this is bad," the man said. "There's a lady who was just attacked and there's blood everywhere."
The man stayed at the scene and on the phone with the dispatcher until help arrived about six minutes later.
"She is getting worse by the second here," he said at one point during the call.
We will have more information on this ongoing investigation as it becomes available.
The Cleveland Division of Police is asking that anyone with information about this incident to contact the Homicide Unit at 216-623-5464. Anonymous information can be given to Crime Stoppers by calling 216-252-7463 or text messaging TIP657 plus your message to Crimes (274637).

Friday, March 29, 2013

Frum Jewish girl sings Nicki Minaj song for her friend’s wedding in Yiidish and English

rikki rose
An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman, Riki Rose, made a song for her friend in honor of her wedding, which was held on October 25th. Rose’s friend Chavy, married Yitzchok Lebowitz.

The song is a parody from the famous song “Starships” by Nicki Minaj. Rose’s song has some Yiddish and some English lyrics.

It is very surprising that an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman risked her reputation by uploading her song to the internet, since in the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, Jewish men are not supposed to listen to a singing woman. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish people are also not allowed to listen to non-Jewish music.

If a rabbi in the community will find out of this video that Rose uploaded to the internet, she might be ostracized from the community.

Nonetheless it is fascinating to watch as a young Ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman authored her own lyrics and perfectly carry the tune to a non-Jewish song. It makes great entertainment for all of us. 

Jewish Nurse brutally murdered in Cleveland,Video


Cleveland’s police chief said Sunday’s murder of a Cleveland Clinic nurse downtown was targeted.
Chief Michael McGrath told NewsChannel5’s Kristin Volk that he does not believe anyone else in the public is in danger, despite no arrest in the case.
"If I thought their safety was in jeopardy, I'd be the first one to knock at their door," said McGrath, who added that police are working hard on the case to identify the person or people responsible for the crime.
McGrath said they're investigating a number of people, including the victim's husband and other family members.
Friends said the mother of four was visiting her lawyer downtown, and was currently in the middle of divorce proceedings from her estranged husband.
Police said a passerby found 53-year-old Aliza Sherman of Beachwood lying in a pool of blood Sunday evening on East 12th Street near the Galleria at Erieview Mall. Sherman and someone who tried to help her called 911.
Sherman was taken to the hospital, where she died a short time later. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office said she was stabbed 11 times.
"We're keeping a lot of information we have under wraps because the way in which the investigation is going," said Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson.
Police have yet to release any description of a suspect. The manager of the Galleria told NewsChannel5 he turned over surveillance video showing the attack to police, but no images of that video were also released to the public.
"If there's one homicide or one crime that's committed, we don't take that lightly, and we do what we need to do to ensure safety not only downtown but in our other neighborhoods," said Jackson.
Court records showed there was to be a divorce proceeding Tuesday and another in April. Sherman’s estranged husband declined NewsChannel5’s request for an interview.
Sherman’s funeral was held Thursday in Cleveland Heights. A friend of Sherman's who attended the service told NewsChannel5 off-camera that it was very crowded, and friends and family described the woman's kindness, generosity and love for animals.
The obituary mentioned Sherman's daughter, three sons, but there is no mention of her husband.

David Cheifetz a sexual abuse victim speaks out


My name is David Cheifetz and I am a victim of childhood sex abuse in a Jewish institution.

There. I have said it. After more than 30 years I have shared the dark secret that has haunted my soul.

I was 13 years old, attending sleep-away camp at Camp Dora Golding, an all-boys Orthodox camp that some of you still send your sons to. I was befriended by a 28-year-old member of the rabbinic staff. Over the course of a week he sexually abused me repeatedly. When the activity was exposed, I was summoned to the camp director’s office and forced to confront the assailant. Then I was summarily sent home, as if it were I who had committed the crime. The camp never even told my parents why I was being sent home. They were just advised to pick me up at the Greyhound terminal at New York’s Port Authority.

I do not know if the perpetrator was ever fired; to the best of my knowledge he was never reported to legal authorities. I understand that he went on to a long career in Jewish education, and based on whispers on the Internet, probably continued targeting young Jewish boys within the walls of Jewish educational institutions. [Camp Dora Golding officials did not respond to repeated attempts for comment on the author’s allegations.]

When I arrived home, I was not given a hero’s welcome. I was also not given a victim’s welcome. I was never sent to a psychiatrist or a psychologist or even a pediatrician. The bitter secret was locked away, barely thought of or spoken of over the next 30-plus years. I did once share the incident with my yeshiva high school principal who insisted, “No, Duvid, he could not have been a rabbi. Rabbis never do such things.”…

The establishment of an independent ombudsman sensitive to the needs of the Jewish community, with programs in every major educational institution. Too many rabbis have been hesitant to advise victims and their families to report abuses to the police, to social service agencies, or to the local district attorney. Or they have been outright complicit in cover-ups. So a central, independently funded ombudsman program (preferably funded by a foundation, and not reliant on the financial pressures of communal mood swings) must exist for victims and their families. The ombudsman will work with legal authorities and social service agencies and the schools to investigate all credible allegations and use its voice and power to pursue and bring pedophiles and their supporters to justice.

Jerusalem rabbi arrested after sexually assaulting his underage daughters

An Israeli rabbi was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting minor girls after he was accused of sexually abusing his own underage daughters, according to police reports in Jerusalem, Israel.

The prominent rabbi was arrested last week for allegedly sexually abusing three of his daughters for more than 10 years.

The rabbi, who has not been publicly identified, is reportedly charged with multiple counts of sexual assault and violation of privacy.

The rabbi is currently in jail pending the completion of the police investigation.

The indictment that was filed in Jerusalem District Court claims that the rabbi began sexually abusing three of his daughters, who are between 12 and 14-years-old, 10 years ago.

According to the indictment, the rabbi ordered his oldest daughter to sleep naked with the younger daughter. The rabbi also put a video camera in her room and watched as she dressed and showered.

The rabbi's daughters have agreed to testify against their father at trial, police said.

New color video released showing liberation of Nazi concentration camp, Video

As Jews around the world are celebrating the liberation of Egypt, new color video emerged of the liberation of a Nazi concentration camp, according to video uploaded to the internet.

Almost 70 years after the end of World War Two, new images showing the Nazi horror still appear. A specialized photo website posted images and a video documenting the Dachau concentration camp after it was liberated by Allied Forces on April 29, 1945.

The website did not specify the source of the photos "or the exact date they were taken. They were later published by the website of o leading British newspaper, which quoted an expert who confirmed that the images were actually taken after the camp was liberated.

"French and Yugoslav flags can also be seen on the video and it is very unlikely that the Nazis have adorned their camp with the flags of other nations," the expert said.

Founded in March 1933, just two months after Hitler became chancellor, Dachau was the first Nazi concentration camp.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

"Finkel" Story in California, Glatt Kosher meat distributer was selling Treif to restaurants, caterers etc..


California Jews are shell shocked after learning this morning that the largest kosher meat distributor was selling non kosher meat for quite some time, an undercover investigation revealed.

As Jews throughout California are preparing to celebrate the Passover holiday, a huge supplier of kosher meat within the Jewish community of California has been stripped of its certification.

Doheny Glatt Kosher Meats is a wholesale supplier of kosher products to retailers, restaurants and caterers.
The company also has a retail location in Pico, California, which are sold directly to customers.
Doheny Glatt is accused of packing boxes of Kosher meat products that were not kosher.

The Rabbinical Council of California sent an email informing people that meat purchased before 3:00 pm Sunday is still considered Kosher.

Full line of Kosher for Passover pizza and sandwiches in Jerusalem, Video

As Jews are celebrating the holiday of Passover, supermarkets, restaurants and takeout stands are adjusting accordingly.

According to Israeli law, stores cannot sell leavened bread items on Passover. Although some bagel shops and cafes choose to be closed on the holiday many restaurants, takeout stands and cake shops are open on Passover and they fill their shelves with delicious kosher for Passover foods.

Restaurants offer a full kosher for Passover menu with matzah instead pitta or laffa. They are all kosher certified by Orthodox Jewish rabbis.

In the video below, you can see one fully stocked kosher for Passover takeout stand located on the third floor in the Jerusalem Central Bus Station.


Monday, March 25, 2013

Yidel Perlstein, Community Board Member, exposes his family to the Gay Candidate for Mayor,Quinn

Quinn and Yidel Perlstein and Ezra Friedlander  (Lisker Rebbe's Son)
Yidel Perlstein, first Chassidic Community Board 12 member, takes photo with the Gay Candidate Quinn.
Is this what Chassidism now endorse? And what about Ezra Friedlander, the son of the Lisker Rebbe, is this what we are going to do now? Expose our precious children to perversion?
They keep talking about Tznious ....but have no problem being friends with gay candidates...
What a bunch of hypocrites. Its all about the Almighty Dollar!
See United to save America

Incredible video footage of arrival of Airforce 1 & Marine 1 in Tel Aviv


Menachem Lieberman was 13 years old when he was coerced to be a false witness in a Rabbis' murder


He helped send a wrongly accused man to prison because of what cops told him to say — and he helped get him out because of what the Torah commanded him to do.
Menachem Lieberman was just a scared 13-year-old when police steered him to finger David Ranta for the 1990 murder of Hasidic Rabbi Chaskel Werzberger after a botched jewel heist in Williamsburg.
Ranta was released last week after nearly 23 years in prison, following a yearlong probe that determined the original cops on the case performed a shoddy investigation, failed to keep adequate notes and coached witnesses.
Lieberman was one of those witnesses 23 years ago — and his decision to finally recant his testimony was the big break in proving Ranta had been railroaded.
“A lot of things made me think back and realize that it was wrong — that a human being is in jail who should not be,” Lieberman told The Post.
It was Feb. 8, 1990, when blood was shed on Clymer Street in a robbery gone bad.
Jewel courier Chaim Weinberger — holding a suitcase filled with 50 pounds of uncut jewels worth $250,000 — was leaving his home on his way to catch a flight when he noticed he was being followed by a man with a pistol. He raced to his car and sped away, knocking the gunman down as he tore off.
The killer turned on Werzberger, who happened to be warming up his 1985 Olds that cold morning. He shot him in the head, then drove off in his car. The rabbi died four days later.
Lieberman, now 36, was on his way to a Satmar yeshiva on Heyward Street when he noticed two men sitting in a station wagon. It was strange, he thought, because the car’s ignition was off, and “they were watching the street.”
The boy went to school and later heard that someone had been shot. He called his mother from a pay phone, and when he came home — he lived in the same building as the slain rabbi — the police were waiting for him.
“They showed me binders of faces of people to try to identify, but I didn’t find anyone there,” he recalled. “I gave them a description — I don’t remember what it was now, but it didn’t match up to David Ranta.”
He met with sketch artists, looked through more mug shots, but still nothing. Weeks turned into months.
That summer, he was summoned from summer camp in upstate Napanoch by cops. Ranta, a petty crook who admitted to being near the scene, had been arrested. Detectives wanted Lieberman to view a lineup at the 90th Precinct station house.
“As I walked in, there were a couple of police officers. I don’t remember their rank, their faces. I just know that somebody said to me, ‘Pick the guy with the big nose,’ ” he said. “And if you saw [Ranta’s] face, he has a very distinct nose. You can’t mistake it, even to this day.