Updated January 12th, 2022 at 19:25 IST
NYPD arrest man charged with hate crime for attacking 2 Jewish men in Brooklyn
The New York City Police arrested a man who attacked two Jewish men in Brooklyn on December 26 last year, The Times of Israel reported on Wednesday.
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The New York City Police arrested a man who attacked two Jewish men in Brooklyn on December 26 last year, The Times of Israel reported on Wednesday. According to the media report, the Hate Crime Task Force (HCTF) said it identified the accused as Suleiman Othman, 27, and a resident of Staten Island. The HCTF confirmed that the accused was charged with assault as a hate crime and third-degree aggravated harassment. Notably, in New York, both the charges come under the category of hate crimes. In a statement released, the HCTF said that the 27-year-old man attacked two of the Jewish men who were standing outside a shoe shop on December 26.
Have a look at social media post of New York City Police here:
On at 12/26/21, at approx 1045 AM, a male, 21, was waiting for a store to open when an individual made anti-Jewish statements and punched him in his face multiple times before fleeing on foot on 86th St towards 4th Ave in Brooklyn. Info? DM us or @NYPDTips or ☎️1-800-577-TIPS pic.twitter.com/Szu8yLkbhy
— NYPD Hate Crimes (@NYPDHateCrimes) December 28, 2021
**ARREST UPDATE** Hate Crime Task Force Detectives, assisted by Brooklyn South Warrants, arrested the individual wanted for this anti-Jewish assault.
— NYPD Hate Crimes (@NYPDHateCrimes) January 11, 2022
Arrested:
Othman, Suleiman 27
Staten Island, NY
Charges:
Assault 3rd degree/Hate Crime
Aggravated Harassment/Hate Crime https://t.co/JwhQjLEDkm pic.twitter.com/e9MQKJe5zk
The statement said that the victim, Blake Zavadsky and Ilan Kaganovich, were attacked as they were wearing an Israel Defense Forces sweatshirt. The same was confronted by the accused during the attack, said the victim. "I didn’t like it, and you have five seconds to take it off," the victim said that the accused man warned them before punching them twice on their faces. The victims, who are in their 20s and studying in a college in New York, revealed that the accused man abused them and called, "Dirty jews".
Subsequently, both the victim approached New York City Councilwoman, Inna Vernikov, who is also Jew. She helped them in organising a protest against hate crime in the Brooklyn district.
Hate crime against Jews increased in past year: NYPD’s data
"I am still going to wear this sweatshirt. We should be able to wear whatever we want and believe in whatever we believe in. I am proud of who I am... I’m still in shock," Jerusalem Post quoted the victims as saying.
"My parents left the Soviet Union when they were seven or eight because of this kind of thing. My grandparents brought them to the US for a better life. It’s 2021, soon to be 2022, how can this still be happening? What kind of world do we live in?" added one of the victims of the hate crime.
It is worth mentioning the crime against the Jews in New York has surged tremendously in the last year. According to data released by NYPD’s hate crimes, the City reported 144 confirmed attacks against Jews between January and October 2021.
Image: Twitter/@NYPDHateCrimes
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Published January 12th, 2022 at 19:20 IST
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