Brooklyn Orthodox Jews Assaulted, Chased In Series Of Nighttime Attacks

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — Several identifiably Jewish men and boys were attacked in a string of assaults in the Borough Park community of Brooklyn on the same night.
Three of the attacks late Friday night involved the same passenger car over five blocks, the Yeshiva World News reported. Surveillance cameras captured each incident, in which several men jump out of the car and chase Hasidic men and boys. In one incident, the passengers punched a Hasidic man after their vehicle pinned him against a parked car. Victims also were punched in two other incidents.
Yeshiva World News reported that the victims are hesitant to file reports with the New York Police Department since suspects often are charged only with harassment.
The number of hate crimes against Jews in New York City rose significantly over the first nine months of this year. The NYPD reported 311 total hate crimes through September, as opposed to 250 through the same period in 2018. Some 52 percent of the reported hate crimes, or 163, targeted Jews. Over the same period last year, the NYPD reported 108 anti-Semitic hate crimes.
3rd unprovoked incident where a #BoroPark resident was attacked by a group of perpetrators on Friday night- this one on 51st Street, who then jumped back into their vehicle and fled. Witnessed this incident or #HaveInfo? #LetUsKnow– call our hotline 7188716666. #MakeTheCall pic.twitter.com/CvExxwaPCa
— Boro Park Shomrim (@BPShomrim) November 3, 2019
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
