We also remember the Jewish victims listed below. While we may not know the details of how each person lived or practiced their Judaism, their lives and memories are no less worthy of being honored here.
Joshua David Birnbaum, Hy”d, 24
Joshua Birnbaum graduated from Columbia University in May 2001 and began working at Cantor Fitzgerald just five days later. He was especially proud to have earned the job on his own, one of only three applicants selected from a group of 75 for the bond trading desk.
On 9/11, he called his mother, father, and sister, Jill, who was also his best friend, to tell them that he loved them. That final message became the goodbye his family would always remember.
Music was his great passion. As “DJ Samsson,” a name chosen in honor of his father, Sam, he DJ’d for Barnard’s WBAR radio station, produced a CD, interned at Atlantic Records, and created a nonprofit event-production company called Steps Back to Life. He also organized a Thanksgiving benefit for the homeless that collected money and canned food.
Joshua loved the Yankees, golf, making people laugh, and was training for the San Diego Marathon the following January.
Aaron Horwitz, Hy”d, 24
Aaron Horwitz was an institutional bond broker at Cantor Fitzgerald, working on the 104th floor of the North Tower. He loved his job, which suited his outgoing personality and ability to make people feel important and at ease. He was among the 658 Cantor Fitzgerald employees killed on September 11.
Friends and family remembered Aaron as funny, warm, and unusually good with people. He could talk a restaurant into finding a last-minute table, cheer up a stranger who was having a bad day, or turn an ordinary moment into something memorable.
A former college adviser said Aaron’s trustworthiness, likability, and communication skills made him well suited for his career, but what stood out most was his zest for life. Those who knew him remembered someone who made friends easily, enjoyed life fully, and left a strong impression in a very short time.
Daniel “Danny” Lewin, Hy”d, 31
Daniel Lewin is believed to have been the first person murdered on 9/11. The American-Israeli entrepreneur and co-founder of Akamai Technologies was aboard American Airlines Flight 11 when the hijacking began. Lewin had previously served as an officer in the IDF, including in the elite Sayeret Matkal unit. Seated just behind two hijackers, Lewin may have attempted to confront them, unaware that another hijacker was seated directly behind him. He was stabbed before Flight 11 ever reached the World Trade Center. Lewin left behind his wife, Anne, and their two young sons, Eitan and Itamar.
David Martin Weiss, Hy”d, 41
David Martin Weiss was a New York City firefighter with the FDNY’s elite Rescue Company 1 in Times Square. Before becoming a firefighter, he worked as an ironworker, and he brought that experience and considerable physical strength to rescue work. He had served with the FDNY for 13 years and lived in Maybrook, New York.
Years before 9/11, Weiss received a medal for a rescue attempt after a car plunged from the FDR Drive into the East River. Although off duty, he stopped, climbed down the iron structure beneath the highway, and jumped into the river in an effort to save the driver. Despite his imposing appearance, shaved head, tattoos, and love of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, fellow firefighters also remembered Weiss for his sharp sense of humor. His remains were never recovered.
Edmund Glazer, Hy”d, 41
Born in Zambia and raised in South Africa, Edmund Glazer was known by his family as calm, thoughtful, and always ready to help. Even as the youngest of four siblings, he became the person relatives turned to when they had a problem. His sister recalled that when he visited, he would quietly stock her refrigerator with groceries and look for ways to make life easier.
Glazer lived outside Boston with his wife, Candy, and their young son, Nathan. He had recently moved into a home he loved and enjoyed taking Nathan on trips to Home Depot as he tried his hand at home repairs. Professionally, he was vice president of finance and administration and chief financial officer at MRV Communications. On September 10, 2001, Glazer was asked to travel to the company’s Los Angeles headquarters to help with a major project. The next morning, he boarded American Airlines Flight 11. Before takeoff, he called Candy to tell her he had made the flight and would call again when he reached Los Angeles. Flight 11 was hijacked and crashed into the North Tower.