(JNS) Jewish New Yorkers are demanding action after two antisemitic acts occurred this past weekend.
“We are horrified once again by a targeted antisemitic attack against those in traditional Jewish clothing,” Rabbi Yeruchim Silber, director of government relations for the Agudath Israel of America, told JNS. “The fact that such attacks have become almost routine and expected is sad. The time for words has long passed. Concrete action needs to be taken.”
In the first incident, a Chasidic man who was walking in the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Williamsburg in Brooklyn was beaten by a gang of men. The attack was caught on camera and went viral.
According to the New York City Police Department, without any “prior words or provocation, the individuals punched and kicked the Chasidic victim about the body, forcing him to the ground.”
The second incident occurred on Saturday evening on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
According to the NYPD, six teens between the ages of 12 and 16 were approached by three male teens who “stated that they wanted to fight them and that because they were Jewish, they wanted to get them.
“The suspects brandished a knife, crow bar and a sword, and followed them towards their residence before fleeing,” said a spokeswoman for the NYPD. “There were no reported injuries as a result of this incident. The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force was notified and is investigating.”
In a tweet, city councilwoman Gale Brewer of the Upper West Side called the incident a “horrible antisemitic attack targeting eighth- and ninth-grade boys. Yes, on children. NYPD responded, and we followed up … Antisemitism is abhorrent and an attack on us all.”
Gideon Taylor, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council-New York, told JNS: “Though we are horrified, we are sadly not surprised by this past weekend’s string of antisemitic hate crimes across Brooklyn and the Upper West Side. While we are deeply grateful to the NYPD for their outstanding efforts in apprehending the attackers, antisemitic hate crimes are still up over 400% from last year, with 86 different incidents occurring so far in 2022.”
The Anti-Defamation League is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the assailants in the Williamsburg attack. The New York City Police Department’s Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $3,500.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul spoke out about the Friday-night attack, saying, “I’m outraged by this act of violence against a Jewish New Yorker. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. I am directing the New York State Police Hate Crimes Task Force to assist the investigation in any way possible.”
