Pro-Palestinian Activist Guilty of Attacking Jewish Leader at Brooklyn Nets Game
— A New York man was convicted of assaulting the head of the Brooklyn Jewish Y, but acquitted on the additional hate crimes charges.
Shawn Schraeder, 27, of Queens, punched Leonard Petlakh, the executive director of the Kings Bay Y, in the face following an exhibition basketball game in October 2014 at Barclay’s Center between the Brooklyn Nets and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv. Petlakh was there with his two young children.
The jury agreed with Schraeder’s attorney that whoever punched Petlakh could not have known whether he was Jewish or Israeli in handing down the decision on Wednesday, the New York Daily News reported.
Schrader was convicted of assault, menacing and endangering the welfare of a child.
Fans verbally sparred inside the arena as the game was ending. Pro-Palestinian protesters began shouting anti-Israel slogans, Petlakh told JTA at the time of the incident, and a pro-Israel fan grabbed a Palestinian flag from one of them.
As the crowds spilled out of the arena and onto the street one of the protesters took a swing at Petlakh, who was there with his 14- and 10-year-old sons. Petlakh’s nose was broken and he required eight stitches. The pro-Palestinian demonstrators reportedly chanted “Free Palestine” and “Your people are murderers” during the alleged assault.
Schrader, who will be sentenced on November 7, faces up to a year in prison. He continues to maintain his innocence and says he will appeal, the Daily News reported.
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