A group of Sept. 11 family members vowed Thursday to protest when the unidentified remains of those killed at the World Trade Center are moved to a repository at the site this weekend.
The relatives said the plan to house the remains underground in the same building as the National September 11 Memorial Museum is disrespectful and that they would rather see the remains entombed above ground on the adjacent memorial plaza.
“Let us have a voice! Let us have a say!” said retired firefighter Jim Riches, who lost his son, also a firefighter, in the 2001 terrorist attacks. “We are outraged and we will never rest until our loved ones, America’s heroes, rest in peace.”
Sally Regenhard, who also lost her firefighter son at the trade center, said family members dread the opening of the museum on May 21.
“It’s a day of sadness and a day of outrage,” she said.
The unidentified remains will be moved on Saturday from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Manhattan’s East Side to the memorial site. City officials say that once there, the remains will be placed in a custom-designed repository at bedrock level in the same building as the museum.
The repository will be overseen by the medical examiner with hopes that improvements in technology could eventually help identify the 7,930 separate body parts.
City officials have said that family members were consulted about the plan, but the opponents say all relatives should have polled.
“The city won’t do a survey because they know we’re right, that the majority of family members would say no,” said Norman Siegel, a civil rights lawyer who is representing family members opposed to the city’s plans.
Phil Walzak, a spokesman for Mayor Bill de Blasio, said de Blasio’s administration “has engaged the community of 9/11 families continuously since entering office four months ago. This includes talking with and listening to families who have questions about this plan — as well as many families who are supportive and comfortable with this plan.”
The remains will be moved in a solemn procession led by police and fire department vehicles.
Police Commissioner William Bratton and Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano said their departments are honored to take part.
Bratton said he hoped the transfer and continued efforts to identify the remains would advanc
e “the journey to peace and closure for their loved ones.”
Forty-one percent of the 2,753 people reported missing at the World Trade Center have not been identified.
(AP)
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5 Responses
How does this impact on Kohanim visiting the site?
I don’t get what bothers them.
Are all the yiddin accounted for? In general I would think most people would prefer ground burial instead of being shoved in a wall.
Can some Rabbis weigh in on the loaded statement presented in the article.There were many Jews both in the towers and aircraft on that day. This creates untold additional suffering for those that have lost.
If I remember correctly, a couple of years ago there was a big meeting that was reported on ywn between rabbanim and officials of the wtc site. This meeting was about kohanim, etc. I never heard about the results but just about the meeting.
Due to the high number of remains there could still be more remains associated with people that have already been identified. Remains of several Jewish victims were identified much later (As much as three years). According to Rabbi Belsky Shlita this is not a simple matter. Therefore if remains are stored onsite how do you know they are not of Jews? This is not about preference but reality and thirteen years later it is still an issue, unfortunately. For those who have lost this journey has not ended.
גיט שבת