Orthodox Jewish man's kind gesture for fallen US Muslim soldier goes viral

Yosef Rapaport of Broooklyn said "Khan is a prime example of why religious bigotry is wrong and a prime example of the opposite."

NOVEMBER 10, 2016 10:44

Updated: NOVEMBER 12, 2016 16:53

Khizr Khan, whose son, Humayun S. M. Khan was one of 14 American Muslims who died serving in the U.S. Army in the 10 years after the 9/11 attacks, offers to loan his copy of the Constitution to Republican US presidential nominee Donald Trump. (photo credit: MIKE SEGAR / REUTERS) — Khizr Khan, whose son, Humayun S. M. Khan was one of 14 American Muslims who died serving in the U.S. Army in the 10 years after the 9/11 attacks, offers to loan his copy of the Constitution to Republican US presidential nominee Donald Trump.

(photo credit: MIKE SEGAR / REUTERS)

A Brooklyn-based ultra-Orthodox Jewish man's inspiring message paying tribute to fallen American-Muslim soldier Captain Humayun Khan has gone viral on the Internet.

Yosef Rapaport on Tuesday dedicated his vote in the 2016 US presidential election to the late war hero, posting to Twitter a picture of himself holding an unmarked ballot thanking Khan for his service, according to The Jewish Chronicle.

"I'm an Orthodox Jewish Immigrant My vote is private. Dedicated in honor of US CPT Khan, his devotion makes (religious) freedom possible," Rapaport stated in the Twitter post.

I'm an Orthodox Jewish Immigrant My vote is private. Dedicated in honor of US CPT Khan, his devotion makes (religious) freedom possible pic.twitter.com/httaaUspeM
— Yosef Rapaport (@YosefRapaport) November 8, 2016

Khan was killed in Iraq in 2004 following a deadly suicide attack. His father, Khazir, drew national headlines following a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, repudiating a ban of Muslim immigrants proposed by Donald Trump during the presidential campaign.

Rapaport, the son of Hungarian Holocaust survivors, said "Khan is a prime example of why religious bigotry is wrong and a prime example of the opposite."

“Following the issue during the campaign about the loyalty of Muslims, he [Captain Khan] is a prime example of why religious bigotry is wrong and a prime example of the opposite; of how we can come together in one country dedicated to an ideal of religious freedom,” Rapaport told The Independent.

The tweet quickly caught the attention of social media users across the globe, according to the Chronicle, notably by Harry Potter author JK Rowling, who helped bolster the Chasidic man's kind gesture.

Rapaport, 62, later told Jewish Internet publication The Forward: “Religious freedom and freedom in general is something that’s near and dear to my heart.”

Rapaport did not publicly state who he intended on voting for leading up to Tuesday's election.