Murder in the Synagogue

I've read this this book and Squelched: The Suppression of Murder in the Synagogue, and for the Max Fishers and other so called powerful people in not just the Jewish community here in Detroit but any so called powerful people I can understand why they tried to suppress the sales on this story. It isa straight forward and accurate history of the events. It tells what happens when no one steps up to do what's right for fear of money and the power we allow it to give over us We as people mus remain ever vigilant of abuses of power. This book is a must read.

Murder in the Synagogue is TV LoCicero's account of the events of 1966 suburban Detroit; the murder of Rabbi Morris Adler, and the build up to what exactly happened on that fateful day. LoCicero weaves the fatally interconnected lives of Morris Adler and Richard Wishnetsky wonderfully, and it's a book that I could see being read in college classes. Well done.

It’s all too common nowadays: Someone uses a gun and kills a roomful of first graders or people at a restaurant or former coworkers. Often, the killer either commits suicide or is killed by the police. One of the first question people ask is “Why did he do it?”
In MURDER IN THE SYNAGOGUE, T. V. LoCicero attempts to answer that question for at least one case. On February 12, 1966, the 700 people attending Shabbat morning services at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Detroit, Michigan, watched in horror as their rabbi, Morris Adler, was shot by a twenty three-year-old man who then shot himself after delivering a short speech about his complaints..
Rabbi Adler was one of the most prominent rabbis in the United States at that time and was show more very involved in interfaith and interracial activities. The book provides biographical and philosophical information about him, what he was trying to accomplish, and what concerned him.
Wishnetsky’s family had been members of the synagogue for many years and he knew the rabbi quite well. His parents and younger sisters were among the congregants that day. One of his sisters had the honor of reading one of the passages after the Torah reading. There were also guests of the family of the boy becoming a bar mitzvah that day and visitorsfrom other religious groups.
Richard Wishnetsky’s brilliance had been recognized while he was still a high school student where he was an overachiever and involved in many activities. At the University of Michigan, he made Phi Beta Kappa when he was a junior and graduated with honors. After graduating, he received a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship to help him continue his studies in graduate school. His main interest was philosophy and he wanted to become a teacher and help his students.
After the shooting, T. V. LoCicero, who was not Jewish and did not know any of the people involved, set about learning as much as he could about Wishnetsky. Facts about the rabbi were much easier to come by. He interviewed scores of Wishnetsky’s friends from high school, camp, college, and other areas (many of whom did not want him to use their real names) as well as many of his teachers, professors, and coworkers. Some of their opinions differed as they saw different aspects of his personality and actions.
What he found was a thread that comes unraveled as time goes by. Some of Wishnetsky’s characteristics that were present while he was still in high school became distorted. His brilliance, on which he had relied to take him anywhere he wanted to go, wasn’t working as well as his college years continued. He became more fixed in his ideas, more opinionated, and more violent, primarily vocally. Some of his actions would be classified as stalking today.
By the time he started graduate school, a few people were beginning to recognize that he had a mental illness Through their recollections, the reader can watch the disease progress. Today, many his illness would probably have been recognized earlier and he would have received better psychological help. He went to several psychologists but did not cooperate. He was institutionalized for a short period. When he began talking about killing a famous person and committing suicide, people did not know what to do with the information.
The Epilogue is an analysis of the sixties, including the election and assassination of President Kennedy, the Civil Rights movement, and the Vietnam war. It was a time of social upheaval, confusion and change. As I write this, near the end of November 2016, the US and the world are trying to come to terms with this year’s US elections, both the primaries and the general election. Much of the comments are as true today as they were when the book was written in 1970.
The book is not what is commonly called “an easy read.” It is a detailed study, almost like a clinical case study, and therefore does have a little repetition. To get some insight into how mental illness can affect an individual and those around him, MURDER IN THE SYNAGOGUE is an excellent choice. show less

I freely chose to review this ARC as I found the title that intrigued me, what I didn't know it was a true story. The author was determined to know what caused this young man with a promising future to murder the Rabai and then take his own life in front of about seven hundred worshipers. He plays detective by getting in touch with Richard Wishnestky's peers and teacher to see a tormented soul and found his religion a mockery that he was ashamed of.

After reading this book I can not understand why the publishers tried to suppress the sales on this story. It is factual and truthful. This tells the story of a young man's descent into mental illness, it also tells what happens when no one in his family does nothing until it is to late. I have sympathy for both his family and the family of Rabbi Adler.

I also am going to read Squelched: The Suppression of Murder in the Synagogue