Men beat and pepper sprayed a 29-year-old Jewish man Thursday in New York City.
New York police on Friday were looking for the perpetrators of the assault on a Jewish man on the sidelines of clashes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinians the day before in Times Square, amid an increase in anti-Semitic acts fueled by the conflict in the Middle East.
According to a police spokesperson, the attack took place at around 6.30 p.m. on Thursday: “five or six men” beat and sprayed a 29-year-old man with pepper spray, while hurling anti-Semitic slurs at him. A video of the scene was broadcast by the “New York Post».
The police, who launched a call for witnesses on Twitter, said Friday that the victim had been hospitalized in “stable” condition.
“Anti-Semitism has no place in our city”
A 23-year-old man identified as Waseem Awawdeh and suspected of participating in the assault by beating the man with a crutch was arrested and charged with hate-motivated assault and assault in assembly. The others were still wanted on Friday.
“I tried to escape. I was surrounded by a whole crowd of people who started kicking me, punching me, ”Joseph Borgen told the American media. “I felt a liquid spill over my face. At first I thought they were peeing on me, but it was pepper spray. My face was on fire. This pain was worse than the concussion and all those other things that followed, ”he added.
The man then spoke about Fox 5 : “We all want peace. We all want the same. What happened yesterday is not the answer to anyone’s problems ”.
29 year old Joseph Borgen was on his way to a pro-Israel rally in Times Square when he was attacked by an angry mob of Pro-Palestine protestors. While kicking, punching and hitting him with flagpoles, he says they told him they were going to “kill him and Israel.” #nbc4nypic.twitter.com/rOud0s7tdb
– Pei-Sze Cheng (@ PeiSzeCheng4NY) May 21, 2021
The events took place on the sidelines of clashes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protesters, shortly after the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas after 11 days of conflict. Twenty-six people were arrested during this demonstration, according to the spokesperson.
A woman also suffered burns when fireworks devices were thrown into the crowd, according to the police, who believe that it could also be a “crime motivated by hate”.
“Anti-Semitism has no place in our city,” and “the perpetrators of this heinous act will be prosecuted,” tweeted Friday Bill de Blasio, mayor of the American metropolis which is home to the largest Jewish community outside of Israel. He said the police had, for two weeks, reinforced security measures in “sensitive areas” for the Jewish and Palestinian communities in the city.
An increase of over 50% in anti-Semitic acts
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and other elected Democrats and candidates for the next municipal elections also condemned the assault, including influential young congressman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who denounced on Saturday Israel’s “apartheid” policy towards the Palestinians. “There is no room for anti-Semitism in the Palestinian liberation movement,” the left-wing Democrat star tweeted. “Our criticisms target Israel and its human rights violations. They are not an excuse for anti-Semitic crimes ”.
According to Jonathan Greenblatt, director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) which fights anti-Semitism and racism, “we have recorded in the last seven to 10 days an increase of more than 50% of anti-Semitic acts”. Several recent anti-Semitic attacks have gone unnoticed, he lamented.
While the media notably reported an assault on Tuesday against Jewish people seated on a restaurant terrace in Los Angeles, he claimed that other attacks had taken place in New York, Florida, Illinois and California. , and reported a “disturbing” rise in anti-Semitic messages on social media. Several protests, mostly smooth, have taken place in New York and other cities around the world since the start of the conflict.
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