A mother in Fair Lawn took her 11-year-old son to Broadway Barber Shop for a haircut which ended in an assault. On Wednesday, December 11, a woman reported in a Facebook post that her son was the victim of a hate crime, after he had his peyot — sideburns maintained by all Jewish males according to Jewish law — intentionally cut off by a barber at the Fair Lawn establishment, an alleged act of antisemitism.
According to this mother’s report, she began their visit to Broadway Barber Shop by explaining exactly what the peyot are and where to stop trimming in order to keep them in tact. Her son became immediately distressed when the barber began by cutting them off as soon as he sat in the chair, and he called his mother over to make it stop.
“I called the owner and asked him to talk to the barber,” she wrote on Facebook. “He spoke to him in Arabic and the barber just went to the other side and trimmed that side even shorter! They were smiling at each other, and my son was crying and feeling violated…he kept going, so I grabbed my son with a half haircut to get up, the guys barely apologized and we both got out of there in tears.”
The Jewish mother had initially chosen Broadway Barber Shop for their stellar online reviews, and was unconcerned about compliance with the rules of maintaining peyot, as she had never had an issue with other barbershops in the past. “I’ve been to at least 20 barbershops in Bergen County,” she wrote. “I’ve never had an issue with this!” She felt assaulted, and her son was so traumatized that he refused to go to school the following day.
In addition to posting about her experience at Broadway Barber Shop on social media, the incident was reported to both the Fair Lawn Police Department and the Anti Defamation League (ADL), and is currently under investigation as a hate crime. It is also currently being investigated by the Bergen County Prosecutor and the FBI Hate Crimes Unit.
“You should always report any incidents of antisemitism,” Chaverim of Bergen County Chief Sol Itzkowitz told The Jewish Link. “Always stay vigilant, and if you see something, say something.”
“This is unconscionable,” wrote Teaneck attorney Esta Smith Luber in the comments of the Facebook post. “I wouldn’t be so quick to assume they can’t be charged…I would reach out to the New Jersey Attorney General’s office.
(I just googled and happened to see that the current attorney general, Matthew Platkin, is the first Jewish New Jersey AG). Good luck and sorry your and your son had to go through this.” Luber included a link to the AG’s website for reporting: www.njoag.gov.
Another commenter recommended connecting with Brooke Goldstein of The Lawfare Project and End Jew Hatred, in addition to the local police department and ADL. “No one should have to live that way,” wrote Miryam Knafo Schapira. “What they did is a religiously motivated hate crime and don’t think for one moment they can’t be prosecuted…we live in a country with the rule of the law, and people should pay the consequences for their actions.”
As of December 12, Broadway Barber Shop’s reviews on Yelp have dropped to 1.5 stars, with hundreds of people posting about the reported incident in order to draw attention to the situation. “I am appalled by the experience of a mother and her 11-year-old child at this barbershop,” wrote one reviewer. “Such lack of professionalism and sensitivity is unacceptable in any setting. I strongly caution anyone seeking a welcoming, respectful environment to avoid this barbershop.”
On Instagram, over 800 commenters have posted their disgust with the situation on Broadway Barber Shop’s account and posts from Jewish news outlets. Among the commenters was noted Jewish celebrity Debra Messing, who wrote: “This is abominable! Sue him for assault!”
Those who experience antisemitism should report using the following links:
- Anti Defamation League: https://www.adl.org/report-incident
- FBI: https://www.fbi.gov/video-repository/report-hate-crimes-to-the-fbi/view
Said Itzkowitz: “Hate has no home in Bergen County.”
