A 26-year-old Orthodox Jewish man was struck in the head on January 2 in the Brooklyn area of New York City, The Algemeiner reported.
A spokesperson from the New York City Police Department (NYPD) told the Journal that two assailants followed the victim, chasing him before hitting him with “an unknown object,” causing a head laceration. The assailants fled in a black sedan and the victim went to an urgent care. Williamsburg News tweeted that the victim was attacked “with sticks to the head.”
.@NYPD90Pct, @WspuShomrim are on scene at Throop Ave & Bartlett St after 2 perps assaulted a Hasidic Jewish Person with sticks to his head, @hatzalah treating the victim with blood wounds to his head, perps fled the scene by car. pic.twitter.com/s0paAJGK39
— WILLIAMSBURG NEWS (@WMSBG) January 3, 2022
The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is currently investigating the matter.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, tweeted that the attack “horrified” her. “Every New Yorker should be able to live in our state without fear of hate or violence,” she wrote, adding that state police would be assisting the NYPD in the investigation.
Horrified by the assault of a Hasidic Jewish person in Brooklyn on Sunday.
Every New Yorker should be able to live in our state without fear of hate or violence. We are directing the @nyspolice Hate Crimes Task Force to assist in the investigation of this disgusting act.
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) January 4, 2022
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez similarly condemned the attack as a “despicable act of violence,” tweeting that his “Hate Crimes Bureau is working closely with @NYPDHateCrimes to find the perpetrators.”
I strongly condemn this despicable act of violence. My Hate Crimes Bureau is working closely with @NYPDHateCrimes to find the perpetrators. Please contact @NYPDTips or call 800-577-TIPS if you have any information. All calls are strictly confidential. https://t.co/x2M9QujixH
— DA Eric Gonzalez (@BrooklynDA) January 3, 2022
Anti-Defamation League New York / New Jersey Regional Director Scott Richman said in a statement to the Journal, “We are deeply troubled by yet another apparent unprovoked attack on a Jewish individual in New York—this time, a brutal violent assault on a Hasidic man in Williamsburg. We are monitoring this case closely and welcome the investigation by the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force. If deemed bias-motivated, this would be the 7th antisemitic attack in almost as many weeks on a Jewish person in Brooklyn. This trend is unacceptable. Everyone must speak up and demand an end to this hatred. We cannot allow antisemitism to become normalized.”
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