Borough Park Assault Is Latest In String Of Anti-Semitic Attacks In Neighborhood
A man was beat up and taunted with anti-semitic remarks in Borough Park Wednesday.
The 21-year-old victim, who is of Bukharan Jewish descent, was walking from the D train’s New Utrecht Avenue station near 43rd Street at 3:30pm, when the perpetrator shouted at him “slow down you fucking Jew!” according to police. When the two men approached each other, the perpetrator punched the victim in the face and head, before fleeing.
The victim was taken to Maimonides Hospital. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime, say cops. No arrests have been made.
This attack is just the latest in spate of violence that appears to target Jewish residents in the neighborhood. In November, a group of teens pelted three Jewish Borough Park men, two of them also in their teens, with eggs in two separate incidents, prompting an investigation by the NYPD’s Hate Crime Unit, reported JP Updates. The attackers reportedly said “Fuckin’ Jews” and threatened to “shoot and kill you Jews” as they assaulted the youths. Two were arrested and charged with assault in those incidents, though the hate crime charges were eventually dropped.
“I am proud of the swift action the 66th police precinct and the Hate Crimes Task Force took in tracking down and arresting the criminals who personally attacked members of the Borough Park community,” Councilman David Greenfield said at the time. “Hate crimes against anyone are unacceptable. Unfortunately, anti-Semitic crimes are on rise in New York City and we cannot ignore blatant acts of discrimination.”
Similarly, over the summer, police were searching for a suspect who viciously attacked a 67-year-old man and punched him in the face while screaming antisemitic slurs, according to Pix 11. The man was taken to the hospital with bruising and swelling. The incident was classified as a hate crime.
A Bensonhurst man was also arrested and charged with assault as a hate crime over the summer after attacking two Jewish men near 86th Street in separate incidents.
Anyone with information regarding these incidents is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 800-577-TIPS. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.
