A 26-year-old man was arrested on Sept. 12 for allegedly assaulting Chasidic Rabbi Avraham Gopin, 63, on Aug. 27.
The man, identified as Oniel G. Gilbourne, faces hate crime charges as well charges of assault and possession of a deadly weapon. He was reportedly hospitalized after his arrest, for reasons that have not been publicly stated.
Gopin told CBS New York on Aug. 28 that the assault occurred while he was walking through Lincoln Terrace Park in the Crown Heights area of Brooklyn areas. Gopin said the assailant punched him multiple times and struck him with a rock. A struggle ensued, and the assailant fled.
“It was hate,” Gopin said. “He said, ‘Jew, Jew.’ He said something in that direction… he was for certain looking to kill. No doubt about [that].”
The American Jewish Committee published a video on Sept. 3 highlighting the rise of anti-Semitism in New York City, pointing out that such hate crimes have increased by 81 percent from 2018-19.
“What would you say if you learned there were over 100 anti-Semitic assaults in a European city?” the video asks. “If Jews were being ambushed, attacked, stabbed, kicked, choked, bludgeoned?”
Jews are being ambushed, attacked, stabbed, kicked, choked, and bludgeoned in the streets of a major global city.
That city is New York.
If you're as outraged as we are, share this video and demand that authorities take action.pic.twitter.com/C9XHF3VlpB
— Avi Mayer (@AviMayer) September 3, 2019
