A month after the shocking murder of 75-year-old Avromi Itzkowitz in Queens, his family says they are convinced the killing was an antisemitic attack and is urging authorities to intensify efforts to solve the case.

Itzkowitz was fatally shot on May 18 near a lake in Kissena Park in the Flushing section of Queens, a location he regularly visited. He was discovered shortly before 5:00 p.m. suffering from gunshot wounds to his neck and back. Emergency responders pronounced him dead at the scene. Although police classified the incident as a homicide, no arrests have been made and investigators have not publicly identified a motive.

Speaking to JNS, Itzkowitz’s son, Tzvi Yonah Itzkowitz, said the family firmly believes his father was targeted because he was visibly Jewish.

“My family and I feel that this was an antisemitic attack,” he said. “It happened in broad daylight, and we want to know what happened and get some closure. My father deserves justice.”

According to his son, Itzkowitz was immediately recognizable as an Orthodox Jew, frequently wearing a yarmulke and sporting a long beard. Family members believe those visible signs of Jewish identity may have made him a target.

The tragedy came just weeks after another devastating loss for the family. Itzkowitz’s wife passed away from cancer on April 30, less than three weeks before he was murdered.

“We lost my mother two and a half weeks before we lost my father,” his son recalled.

Family members became alarmed when they were unable to reach Itzkowitz for several hours. Concern soon turned to fear as attempts to contact him went unanswered.

His daughter eventually tried reaching him through a video call, but instead of her father, a member of the NYPD answered the phone.

“For an hour and a half, we sat around the table not knowing anything,” his son said. “We thought maybe he had fainted or gotten lost. We had no idea.”

Itzkowitz was a well-known and beloved figure in the Jewish community of Kew Gardens Hills. For many years he worked at G&I Kosher Bakery, the family-owned kosher bakery established by his parents in the early 1960s.

“He was the sweetest, kindest person, always with a smile for everyone,” his son said. “A short walk home from the bakery would take three times longer than normal because he would stop and talk to people along the way.”

In addition to his work at the bakery, Itzkowitz devoted years of service as a volunteer with Hatzalah of Queens.

Family members say detectives have maintained regular contact and have shown compassion throughout the investigation. Nevertheless, the case remains unsolved.

Investigators have collected surveillance footage from nearby streets, but the absence of security cameras inside the park has complicated efforts to identify a suspect or reconstruct exactly what happened.

The family believes the case deserves far greater public attention and argues that authorities should examine it as a possible hate crime.

“We feel that a chareidi Jew shot to death in broad daylight should receive much more public attention,” his son said. “If the case is treated as a hate crime, perhaps additional resources will be devoted to the investigation. We believe that a Jewish man who was shot to death in broad daylight because of his Jewish appearance is the victim of an antisemitic attack.”

One month after the killing, the questions surrounding Avromi Itzkowitz’s death remain unanswered, leaving his family still searching for justice—and for the person responsible.

{Matzav.com}