A group of teenagers are accused of attacking Jews twice in New York on Friday during Passover, hurling anti-Semitic slurs at their victims and threatening one of them with a knife.
In the first attack, on the second day of the Jewish holiday, the group reportedly approached a Jewish man in the New York borough of Queens, according NBC News.
The group allegedly threw stones at the 49-year-old man outside a synagogue while shouting anti-Semitic slurs, before one of them brandished a knife.
A passerby intervened and the attackers fled, according to the police.
The group struck again that evening, when police said they approached a 48-year-old man around 9.30pm, again scolded him, uttering anti-Semitic tropes and shoved him before to run away.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) released surveillance camera footage of the group to help identify the teens.
In New York, 263 hate crimes targeting Jews were reported to police in 2022, an average of one anti-Semitic act in the city every 33 hours.
Reported incidents ranged from violent assault and verbal harassment, to property damage and anti-Semitic graffiti.
Jewish security groups have said many attacks likely go unreported, though observers note that part of the rise in anti-Semitic crimes is due to different and improved reporting methods.
Authorities and Jewish groups are working to stem anti-Semitic attacks in New York City, where more than a million Jews live.
READ: New York’s Jewish Security Organizations Coordinate
Luke Tress contributed to this article.
