Muslim Teen Honored for Chasing Down Attacker of Orthodox Woman
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — A Muslim teen from New York City who helped police catch a man who hit an Orthodox Jewish woman on the subway was honored by community leaders.
Ahmed Khalifa, 17, stopped the Brooklyn-bound train on Dec. 28 so that the woman could get medical attention and then jumped off the train to follow the assailant.
The slap broke the woman’s glasses and caused her to lose consciousness. She was removed from the train and taken to a local hospital.
Khalifa followed the assailant and contacted the Shomrim Jewish safety patrol who got the police involved.
He waited near the bus stop until the police arrived. The police removed the assailant, identified as Rayvon Jones, 31, from the bus. Jones was charged with assault in Brooklyn Criminal Court.
State Assemblyman Dov Hikind on Thursday presented Khalifa with a donated laptop computer for college in the fall and a citation praising his actions.
Hikind noted that Khalifa is Muslim and that he helped an Orthodox Jewish woman. “In a time of such divisiveness, it’s refreshing to see a story like this resonate within our communities,” said Hikind, who is an Orthodox Jew, and was joined by community faith leaders and politicians in the ceremony.
“I’m just a guy. I think everyone should be doing this because we are all one people; I would help anyone out no matter who they are, I’m just happy people are learning that this is the right thing to do,” Khalifa said in a statement, the Brooklyn Eagle reported.
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