Cheryl Makin

@CherylMakin

NEW BRUNSWICK – With tears filling his eyes, Ari Schwartz said Sunday's event at Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) 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, this 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 of AEPi.

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."

"I remember the day he got his acceptance to Rutgers," he 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. He was even more excited when he got accepted to the business school. He loved his visit here and his bond with his new school was instantaneous. That's part of the reason why we feel so good about this permanent connection with Rutgers."

A fitting gesture

In a private 30-minute initiation 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.

"Somehow that is fitting," said Adam Nachman of East Brunswick, a senior at Rutgers and member of AEPi.

READ: 18-year-old killed in Israel mourned by Edison grandparents

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READ: New Hillel Center opens at Rutgers

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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, a resident of Sharon, Massachusetts, with ties to Middlesex County, had been accepted admission to Rutgers Business School.

"Ezra loved to have fun," Ruth Schwartz said. "He always had a big smile. He was silly. He loved sports. He was a skier, big into baseball and wiffleball. He loved to have fun. He loved life."

According to his grandmother, Laurie Senecal of Edison, Ezra Schwartz "went to spend a year in Israel to study, tour, do good deeds and mature before starting college." Often called a "gap year," many teens participate in a year of study and good deeds in Israel. Ezra Schwartz, who graduated from Maimonides School in Massachusetts, was participating in a program at Yeshivat Ashreinu in Beit Shemesh.

His father said the gap year experience was very important to his son and that "Ezra desperately wanted his year in Israel to be a success, and he wasn't even sure what that meant."

"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. I think a lot about Ezra's goals and his passions and his pursuits. 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."

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.



His funeral in Sharon, Massachusetts, where he lived with his parents, Ari and Ruth Schwartz and four siblings — Mollie, 20, Hillel, 15, Elon, 13 and Avi, 11 — 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.

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.

A mutual connection

As news of Ezra Schwartz's death reached the United States, Seth Jonas — AEPi president of 1991 — and Seth Greenfield — AEPi president of 1992 — realized they had mutual connections to the slain teenager and his family. Jonas' daughter Emma attended Camp Yavneh in New Hampshire where Ezra Schwartz was her division leader and Greenfield was a high school classmate of Ezra Schwartz's mother Ruth. Greenfield, along with five other high school classmates, traveled to the Boston-area to pay a condolence call to the Schwartz family.

Soon after, Jonas reached out to Greenfield wanting to find a way to honor the young man that had had such a positive impact on his daughter, then 12. Ezra Schwartz personally coached and motivated the young camper for a solo during the camp's annual Zimriyah (song fest). That summer, Jonas watched the event live on his computer.

"I noticed this older boy who was obviously the head of the kid's division jumping up and down, really getting into it. When I told my daughter the news, it really hit home for both of us," said Jonas, who lives in New York. "We wanted to do something for the Schwartz family and decided to make Ezra an honorary brother of AEPi. By making him a brother, it would help preserve his memory."

"Making Ezra and his father brothers of the fraternity — let it serve as a symbol for the lost potential," said Greenfield, who lives in Teaneck. "He was very excited to come to Rutgers. We are creating more of that connection that he wanted with Rutgers. He couldn't wait to attend. This would have been the end of his freshman year. We don't know for sure if he would have pledged AEPi, but there is a good chance he would have .... We are creating a happy legacy."

After the initiation, Jonas shared thoughts from several of Ezra Schwartz's campers, including his own daughter, which showed "just what kind of a kid Ezra was, to have this impact on 12-year-olds." The award given at the annual Zimriyah is now named in his honor.

"If I would explain what Ezra was to me, I would say he was just the most perfect counselor," Emma Jonas said. "Ezra would talk and get to know us. Ezra brought so much joy into camp and I miss him very much."

Welcoming the new brothers

Ruth Schwartz said the AEPi event is very "special."

"Anything Rutgers-related is great," she said. "I feel like this is something that Ezra would have done if he was here. And while these kinds of things are hard for us to think about and do in some ways, it is also very nice in life to do things that go to the core of who he is. It is special for Ari to be able to do this with Ezra. It's very special that he will be remembered here. And we like to do things that are happy and celebrating his life."

AEPi National President Andrew Borans, who attended Sunday's induction, said honorary membership is not a common occurrence. Borans added that the international fraternity, which has six chapters in Israel, is raising funds to help build Israel's first official baseball stadium, which will be named "A Field for Ezra" in Ra’anana, Israel. The project is expected to be completed by September.

Nearly all the fraternitiy's undergraduate members as well as several AEPi alumni from Rutgers were present to welcome members of the Schwartz family, including Ezra's parents, younger brother Elon and grandfather Alan Senecal at the ceremony.

After the initiation, current AEPi President Daniel Siegel welcomed the new brothers to snaps from the current members.

"It's very impactful and you are always welcome here," Siegel said to Ari Schwartz.

A plaque with Ezra Schwartz's photo, honoring his membership and love for Judaism and the State of Israel was dedicated and will hang at the fraternity house on Sicard Street.

"We want it to serve as inspiration to all of us and perpetuate Ezra's memory," Greenfield said. "Here, a tremendous amount of potential was cut off by this unfortunate tragedy. So, this is a symbol to appreciate life — that there is a lot to live for and we need to bring peace to the world. We want them to be motivated and understand how precious life is."

Earlier in the day, Ezra Schwartz was celebrated at a memorial 5K hosted by Rutgers Hillel at Buccleuch Park. The annual FIT 5K honored the memory of Ezra Schwartz and will now continue as a memorial dedication in perpetuity and be known as the Ezra Schwartz Memorial FIT 5K run/walk. The event also hosted a one-mile fun run/walk and Israel Festival. The event raised funds for the Rutgers Hillel Center for Israel Engagement (RHCIE) — the first permanent pro-Israel center at any Hillel in the United States.

Staff Writer Cheryl Makin: 732-565-7256; cmakin@mycentraljersey.com