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New York Man, Fired From Israeli Hotel, Kills Co-Worker N.Y. Man Fired From Hotel In Israeli City Kills Worker
(about 7 hours later)
JERUSALEM — A New York man who was fired from a hotel in the Israeli resort town of Eilat on Thursday returned to the hotel on Friday morning and opened fire, killing a kitchen worker before being shot dead by police officers, the authorities said. JERUSALEM — A New York man who was fired from a hotel in the Israeli resort city of Eilat on Thursday returned there on Friday morning and opened fire amid a crowd of tourists, then killed a kitchen worker before being shot dead by police officers, the authorities said.
The gunman, whom the police identified as William Hershkovitz, 23, had arrived in Israel on Aug. 27 for a five-month program known as Masa that combines travel and Hebrew study with internships in Eilat hotels. Yuval Arad, a spokesman for the program, said Mr. Hershkovitz was told Thursday that he had to leave the program and decide by next week whether to return home or to remain in Israel with relatives. The gunman, a 23-year-old potter from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., named William Herskowitz, had arrived in Israel on Aug. 27 for a five-month program known as Masa that combines travel and Hebrew study with internships, in this case in hotels in Eilat, a Red Sea port. Yuval Arad, a spokesman for the program, said Mr. Herskowitz was told Thursday that he had to leave the program and decide by next week whether to return home or to remain in Israel with relatives.
“There was some problems with his attitude and with the hotel staff,” said Mr. Arad, declining to elaborate. Another official with the program, Ofer Gutman, told The Associated Press that Mr. Hershkovitz “was a normal guy,” adding, “There was nothing that indicated what would happen in the end.” “There was some problems with his attitude and with the hotel staff,” said Mr. Arad, declining to elaborate. Another official with the program, Ofer Gutman, told The Associated Press that Mr. Herskowitz was a “normal guy,” adding, “There was nothing that indicated what would happen in the end.”
Eitan Gedasi, deputy police commander of Eilat, told Israel Radio that a call came in about a shooting at the hotel, the Leonardo Club, around 9 a.m. after a man grabbed a pistol from a hotel security guard. Micky Rosenfeld, an Israeli police spokesman, said the episode began about 9 a.m. Friday, when Mr. Herskowitz grabbed a pistol from a security guard at the Leonardo Club Hotel and fired several shots in the dining area before storming into the kitchen, where he killed a cook, Armando Abed, 33, from the Arab Christian town of Miliya, in Galilee. The shots fired in the dining room did not strike anyone.
“The man surprised the security guard and threw him on the ground,” Mr. Gedasi said. “A civilian  who saw this tried to help, but the man managed to get away with the weapon towards the kitchen.” Mr. Herskowitz then “barricaded himself in the kitchen,” Mr. Rosenfeld said, raising police fears of a hostage situation. About 10:15 a.m., antiterrorism units from the Israeli Defense Forces “moved in on the suspect, and he opened fire again,” Mr. Rosenfeld said.
Micky Rosenfeld, an Israeli police spokesman, said Mr. Hershkovitz fired several shots in the dining area before storming into the kitchen, where he killed a 33-year-old cook, Armando Abed, from the Arab Christian town of Miliya, in Galilee. The shots fired in the dining room did not strike anyone. It turned out that no hostages had been taken, and guests in the lobby and dining area were ordered to return to their rooms and lock the doors. Two women were treated for shock.
Mr. Hershkovitz then “barricaded himself in the kitchen,” raising police fears of a hostage situation. About 10:15 a.m., antiterror units from the Israeli Defense Forces “moved in on the suspect, and he opened fire again,” Mr. Rosenfeld said. Israeli officials originally identified the gunman as William Hershkovitz, but public records in the United States listed his name with a W instead of a V, the more common American spelling, and without the second H.
It turned out that no hostages had been taken, Mr. Rosenfeld said. Two women were treated for shock afterward, he added. Mr. Arad said Mr. Herskowitz was among thousands of young adults in Masa, a program combining tourism, study and work that is financed in part by the Jewish Agency for Israel and run by Oranim, an educational tourism provider. He was one of 80 Masa participants living and working in Eilat hotels, Mr. Arad said.
Mr. Arad said Mr. Hershkovitz was from Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Masa, which is partially financed by the Jewish Agency for Israel, brings thousands of young people to Israel each year for lengthy stays combining tourism, study and work, he said. It is operated by Oranim, an educational tourism provider. Mr. Hershkovitz was one of 80 Masa participants living and working in Eilat hotels, Mr. Arad said. The Jewish Agency said after the shooting that it had appointed a committee to investigate the circumstances under which Mr. Herskowitz had been accepted to the program.
The Jewish Agency said after the shooting that it had appointed a committee to investigate the circumstances under which Mr. Hershkovitz had been accepted to the program. The shooting occurred during the holiday of Sukkot, when Israeli schools and many offices are closed. It is one of the busiest weeks of the year in Eilat, and the 282-room Leonardo Club, which caters to families with all-inclusive packages and a water park, was fully booked. Relatives of Mr. Herskowitz in the United States did not respond to telephone calls on Friday. Public records and Internet searches suggest that he attended the State University of New York at New Paltz and worked there as a ceramic technician, then became the proprietor of Merlin Pottery.
Guests at the hotel described the mayhem that erupted after the assailant argued with a security guard in the lobby and took his weapon. “I was sitting in the lobby and reading a newspaper,” one guest, Eli Zmor, told Maariv, a daily newspaper in Israel. “I heard screaming and I saw someone jump on the security guard. I saw him take the security guard’s gun and start shooting all over.” In an article posted on Ulster Happening, an online magazine, the potter referred to himself as William Merlin, saying he borrowed the name from a grandfather, and described the ancient “salt fired” technique that he favored. “We have a rich heritage of magic in our bloodline,” he said. “We have always worked hard and overcome great odds and the work I make is surely a historic landmark of human perseverance and resilience.”
Another, Nissim Rubin, said he tried to stop the gunman. “I went out, jumped on the assailant and we both fell to the floor,” he told Maariv. He said guests were terrified when the gunman started shooting. “Panic erupted and people took cover beneath the tables,” Mr. Rubin said. The shooting occurred during the holiday of Sukkot, one of the busiest weeks of the year in Eilat.
Hotel workers and the police told guests to return to their rooms and lock the doors. Once told that it was safe to come out, people emerged “happy, clapping,” another guest, Michal Bouaron, told Israel’s Channel 2. Guests at the hotel described the mayhem. “I was sitting in the lobby and reading a newspaper,” one guest, Eli Zmor, told Maariv, a daily newspaper in Israel. “I heard screaming and I saw someone jump on the security guard. I saw him take the security guard’s gun and start shooting all over.”
Another guest, Nissim Rubin, said he tried to stop the gunman. “I went out, jumped on the assailant and we both fell to the floor,” he said, according to Maariv’s Web site. When the shooting started, Mr. Rubin added, “panic erupted and people took cover beneath the tables.”
Once the guests were told that it was safe to come out of their rooms, people emerged “happy, clapping,” another guest, Michal Bouaron, told Israel’s Channel 2.
“We won’t let this ruin our day and our vacation,” she added.“We won’t let this ruin our day and our vacation,” she added.

Irit Pazner Garshowitz and Jonathan Rosen contributed reporting.

Irit Pazner-Garshowitz and Jonathan Rosen contributed reporting from Jerusalem, and Alain Delaquérière contributed research from New York.