Student Murdered in Hebron Marketplace Was a Member of a Prominent Yeshivau. Family

The death of Aharon Gross, the 19-year-old student murdered on July 7 near the Hebron marketplace, has cast a pall over the Yeshiva University community. The slain teenager was a member of a family that has been associated with the university for more than 50 years.

Gross’s father and both his grandfathers attended university schools and affiliates. His paternal grandfather, the late Reuben Gross, graduated from the university’s high school for boys in 1931. He later became one of the most prominent communal leaders on Staten Island and in national religious organizations. Two uncles and an aunt of the murdered youth also attended the University.

“We remember the Gross family in their mourning,” Dr. Norman Lamm, president of the university, said. “They only wanted to live in peace and to fulfill their love for Torah and for Zion. We share in their grief at the senseless killing of this young man who had so much to give to the world.”

Aharon’s father, Alex Gross, graduated in 1964 from Yeshiva College, the men’s undergraduate, liberal arts and sciences division of the university. He then earned his law degree from New York University. He moved with his family to Israel about eight years ago.

At the same time, Aharon’s grandfather, Rabbi Yehuda Ginsburg, also moved to Israel. Ginsburg was ordained in 1948 at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, an affiliate of Yeshiva University. One of Aharon’s uncles, Donn Gross, attended Yeshiva College before moving to Israel.

Another of the slain youth’s uncles, Avery Gross also graduated from Yeshiva College. He served as president of his senior class there. He later earned a law degree from New York University, and he is now an attorney on Staten Island. Aharon’s aunt, Dr. Benita Gross, is a recent graduate of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. A cousin, Miriam Gross Lowenthal, is now enrolled at the university’s Stem College for Women.