Victim Of Brooklyn Anti-Semitic Hate Crime Attack Shares His Story
Suspected attackers in Brooklyn, New York.
The victim of an anti-Semitic hate crime in Brooklyn shared his story with CBS New York, detailing the day he was beaten by four men earlier this month.
The 42-year-old, who is Jewish and declined to be named, said he was walking down the street in the Williamsburg neighborhood on May 4 when four men approached and punched him in the face. The attackers yelled, “We hate Jews,” the man told CBS.
“One terrible punch, like full of power, like a lot of power in one punch,” he said. “Terrible pain on the teeth and on the eyes.”
When one of the attackers allegedly yelled to the others, “He’s not down,” the victim said he started to “fight and scream for help.”
Two bystanders ran with him to the police, who are still trying to identify the attackers. The victim said his face was still bruised a week later.
Another attack on a Jewish man took place in the same area three days later. A video showed the victim being punched in the head from behind. Investigators are also still searching for the suspect, and the Anti-Defamation League is offering a $5,000 reward for information. Both cases are being treated as hate crimes. Attacks on Jews in heavily-Jewish neighborhoods of Brooklyn have been rising in the last few years.
Alyssa Fisher is a writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
