NY man charged with harassment for claiming Jews responsible for coronavirus

Dunkin’ Donuts Image by Andrew Burton/Getty Images
(JTA) — Claiming Jews are responsible for the coronavirus, a New York City man has been charged with bias intimidation and harassment following two confrontations with a Jewish man at a Dunkin’ Donuts in New Jersey.
Afrim Haxhaj, 30, of Queens, told the Jewish man at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Fort Lee on Monday to leave while saying Jews are responsible for the coronavirus, the Fair Lawn-Glen Rock Daily Voice reported. He also told the Jewish man not to come back.
Haxhaj allegedly confronted the Jewish man again the next day at the same store, saying “he does not want Jews in his neighborhood and bumping his chest into the victim,” state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said, according to the Daily Voice.
The Jewish man left the store and called police, according to the report.
The Fort Lee Police Department announced the charges on Tuesday.
The post NY man charged with harassment for claiming Jews responsible for coronavirus appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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.
