Rutgers fraternity honors legacy of teen slain in Israel
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J — With tears filling his eyes, Ari Schwartz said Sunday's event at Alpha Epsilon Pi honoring his slain son was "different" from all the others.
On Nov. 19, 2015, 18-year-old Ezra Schwartz was killed by a terrorist's bullet in Israel.
Unlike all previous events and ceremonies, the one at the fraternity was "not celebrating who Ezra was and what Ezra did," but rather, "it represents who he could have been" — a Class of 2020 Rutgers University student just finishing his freshman year and most likely a brother of the international Jewish fraternity.
"He could have been sitting here. He could have been roommates with one of you," Ari Schwartz said to the brothers.
So on the day known in Israel as Yom Hazikaron — The Day of Remembrance for the Fallen Soldiers of Israel and Victims of Terrorism — AEPi inducted Ari Schwartz as a brother and Ezra Schwartz as an honorary brother of the Rho Upsilon chapter of the fraternity. Founded in 1913, AEPi is considered the world’s Jewish college fraternity, operating chapters on more than 190 college campuses in seven countries.
"It means a lot," Ari Schwartz said. "It really does. It seems like the entire world has reached out to us in order to support us through this tragedy. AEPi's gesture today is another example of that. I very much appreciate the gesture of inducting me into AEPi as well."
In a private 30-minute ceremony, the father and son became the 69th and 70th members of the more than 60-year-old Rutgers chapter, which was reinstated on the campus in 2014. Beginning Monday evening, Israel will celebrate Yom Ha'Atzmaut — the 69th anniversary of its birth as a state.
Ezra Schwartz was one of three killed in a West Bank terrorist attack in Novermber of 2015. His plan, following his gap year in Israel, was to attend Rutgers and, perhaps, join AEPi. According to Rutgers University President Robert Barchi, Ezra Schwartz had been accepted admission to Rutgers Business School.
"I remember the day he got his acceptance to Rutgers," Ari Schwartz added. "He was so happy. He wanted a big school with a strong Hillel and a strong sports program. He loved sports and was immediately excited to be a huge Scarlet Knights fan."
"When Ezra chose to go to Israel I wondered why," Ari Schwartz said. "He wanted to get something out of that year and that is what drove him to pull himself out of bed and get on a bus with his friends to work on the Oz V'Gaon Park just before he was killed. We are sure he was choosing a path that made sense to him and he was working hard to make that path successful."
Leaving the area after delivering food to Israel Defense Force soldiers, Ezra Schwartz's group was ambushed by terrorists. He was shot while sitting in a van struck in traffic at the Gush Eztion junction.
In March, Muhammad Haruv, the terrorist responsible for the death of Schwartz and two others in the drive-by shooting was sentenced to four life prison terms by the Judea Military Court. Seven others were wounded in the attack.
His funeral in Sharon, Massachusetts, where he lived with his parents, Ari and Ruth Schwartz and four siblings was attended by more than 1,500. The New England Patriots conducted a moment of silence for Schwartz, a devoted fan.
Following Schwartz's death and that of Anita Datar, a 1995 Rutgers College graduate killed by terrorists a day later in the attack at the Radison Blu Hotel in Bamako, Mali, President Robert Barchi ordered the Rutgers University flag be lowered that Monday to half-staff to recognize the two.
"I think a lot about Ezra's goals and his passions and his pursuits," Ari Schwartz said. "He has inspired me to set goals for myself and to pursue goals and activities that may seem out of reach.
"I have my own little pact with Ezra. He encourages me and I use him to push myself out of my comfort zone. Whatever you guys do in your life, push yourself. Do it for Ezra, but most of all do it for yourself."
► Related: Teen found slain in 1979 was never forgotten