JTA- Five of the fatalities in the terrorist truck-ramming attack in New York City on Tuesday afternoon were Argentine tourists celebrating the 30th anniversary of their high school graduation, including one Jewish businessman.
At least eight people were killed and about a dozen injured when a truck rammed into a crowd on a bike path in downtown Manhattan in what Mayor Bill de Blasio called “an act of terror.”
According to Argentina’s Foreign Ministry, the victims are Diego Enrique Angelini, Ariel Erlij, Hernán Diego Mendoza, Alejandro Damián Pagnucco and Hernán Ferruchi.
Erlij, 48, is a Jewish steel mill owner from the city of Rosario in central Argentina. He reportedly paid for two of his high school friends to go on the trip so they could all be together for the anniversary. They graduated in 1987 from the Polytechnic School in Rosario.
Another Argentine, Martín Ludovico Marro, was injured and taken to a Manhattan hospital. Four others from the group were not hurt.
Ariel Cohen Sabban, president of the Argentine Jewish umbrella organization DAIA, confirmed to JTA that Erlij is Jewish.
Misaskim, an American Orthodox Jewish not-for-profit organization that provides services for the care of the dead, is working with the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office to ensure that Erlij’s body is handled according to Jewish custom.
At least eight people were killed and about a dozen injured when a truck rammed into a crowd on a bike path in downtown Manhattan in what Mayor Bill de Blasio called “an act of terror.”
According to Argentina’s Foreign Ministry, the victims are Diego Enrique Angelini, Ariel Erlij, Hernán Diego Mendoza, Alejandro Damián Pagnucco and Hernán Ferruchi.
Erlij, 48, is a Jewish steel mill owner from the city of Rosario in central Argentina. He reportedly paid for two of his high school friends to go on the trip so they could all be together for the anniversary. They graduated in 1987 from the Polytechnic School in Rosario.
Another Argentine, Martín Ludovico Marro, was injured and taken to a Manhattan hospital. Four others from the group were not hurt.
Ariel Cohen Sabban, president of the Argentine Jewish umbrella organization DAIA, confirmed to JTA that Erlij is Jewish.
Misaskim, an American Orthodox Jewish not-for-profit organization that provides services for the care of the dead, is working with the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office to ensure that Erlij’s body is handled according to Jewish custom.
