Edited by: Fern Sidman
Thousands mobilized on, Sunday, May 23rd at 7 World Trade Center – Ground Zero – and across the nation in response to a wave of antisemitic attacks nationwide and to stand with Israel in its ongoing battle against terrorism and demonization.
The rally, “United Against Antisemitism. United Against Terror. United for Us” was comprised of 100 Tri-State Jewish community organizations and organized by the Israel-American Council. Many Jewish organizations joined in 14 rallies from coast to coast bringing thousands of people to the streets, as antisemitic hate crimes rise nationwide amid the current wave of Mideast violence.
In addition to New York City, other rallies are taking place Sunday nationwide including in Atlanta; Austin, TX; Denver; Great Neck, Long Island; Houston; Kansas City; Los Angeles; Miami; Orange County, CA; Orlando; Philadelphia; Rochester, NY; and Tenafly, NJ.
“To our brothers and sisters in Israel, we want you to hear loud and clear: We stand with you as you show the world what it means to live bravely under the threat of hatred and annihilation you have faced since before the State of Israel was even created,” said Elisha Wiesel, son of the late author and Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel.
Sarri Singer, who survived a 2003 suicide bombing of an Israeli bus, said that “whether it is in Paris, London, Brussels, Israel, New York City, or anywhere else in the world, terrorism does not discriminate. It can happen anywhere and at any time. All of us have an obligation to show that we are not going to stand by while we let those who have little value for human life continue to hurt and murder innocent people. An attack on any of us is an attack on all of us.”
The World Trade Center was chosen as a gathering spot because the site reflects America’s own history of being targeted by hatred and terror.
On Thursday evening, Joseph Borgen, 29, an accountant from the Upper East Side, was beaten mercilessly by a bloodthirsty gang of pro-Hamas terrorists as he was on his way to a pro-Israel rally in the Times Square area. The gang jumped him on Broadway near West 49th Street. Borgen suffered multiple injuries including a black eye and a concussion.
“There was a rally at this location last week, which I had gone to,” Borgen told The Post. “I wore a yarmulke last week, and nothing big happened. I showed up for the same rally this week. I got off the subway at 6:30 and started walking to the rally, and before I could even make it to the rally, a few blocks away, a guy started chasing me.”
“I tried to get away, and the next thing I knew, I was surrounded by a whole crowd of people who proceeded to kick me, punch me, beat me down,” he recalled. “I felt a liquid being poured on my face and at first I thought I was getting urinated on, but it turned out I was getting maced and pepper sprayed. My face was on fire. That pain was worse than the concussion and all this other stuff that followed.”
One of Borgen’s attackers was arrested and subsequently released from custody. On Friday, the NYPD arrested 23-year old Waseem Awawdeh from Bay Ridge. He was charged with second-degree hate crime assault, a second-degree gang assault, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon. Police detectives are searching for others involved in the gang beating of Borgen.
From his jail cell on Saturday, Awawdeh proclaimed that “If I could do it again, I would do it again. I have no problem doing it again.” Even though prosecutors told Judge Kathryn Paek that the vicious attack on Borgen was unprovoked, she saw fit to set only a $10,000 bail fee which was met soon thereafter. Awawdeh was hailed as a hero by his contemporaries and other pro-Hamas terrorist activists.
Also speaking to the Post was an Upper East Side teenager who told the paper that he was beaten up by pro-Palestine protesters after he had his Israeli flag yanked away at the demonstration. He told the Post that he was hospitalized with a concussion and injured jaw after the attack.
“They surrounded me, and by the time I realized what was happening, I was punched in the face twice, once in the jaw and once in the temple,” the 17-year-old boy said, adding that, “This is another example of a rise in hate crimes in New York City, especially anti-Semitism.”
The teen, who asked not to be publicly identified, said he thinks police should have been quicker to separate the feuding factions. “Obviously tensions are high between Israelis and Palestinians and there should have been a better police presence to keep the sides separated,” he told The Post. “It was a mess. It was a nauseating scene.”
Also on Sunday, in response to the litany of anti-Semitic assaults across the city, New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio paid a visit to the Boro Park community in Brooklyn to denounce the attacks.
According to a report on the Yeshiva World News web site, DeBlasio visited the 66th Precinct on 16th Avenue where he was joined by NYPD Chief of Department Rodney Harrison, Capt Jason Hagestad CO 66, Deputy Inspector Richie Taylor, CO Community Affairs, Rabbi Jack Meyer and Rabbi Bernard Freilach, Police Liaisons in Boro Park, as well as a Boro Park Shomrim coordinator.
The Mayor made clear that the NYPD will be out in force in Jewish communities throughout the city, according to the YWN report. “We will not tolerate hate crimes”, DeBlasio said.
He added: “We will find the perpetrators. We will stop them. This is going to be a very aggressive action today, tonight, and the days ahead, until we are certain that this is done. For me it is very personal. An attack on the Jewish community is an attack on all New Yorkers, and it will not be tolerated, and we will stop it. I want to be very, very clear. These perpetrators will be found. We have talked about it in detail. They will be found. They will be prosecuted. They will suffer the consequences.”
Two anti-Semitic attacks were reported in Brooklyn on Saturday evening. According to an ADL press release both incidents involved groups of individuals harassing Orthodox Jews in relation to the latest Hamas-Israel conflict.
According to media reports, in one instance, Orthodox Jewish individuals standing outside their synagogue were harassed by a group yelling “Free Palestine, kill all the Jews!” and in the other, two Orthodox Jewish teenagers were reportedly approached by a group of individuals, with at least one holding a bat, yelling “Free Palestine!” The Orthodox Jewish youths were allegedly punched and forced to yell “Free Palestine.”
The Vois Es Nais web site reported that a passing Uber driver witnessed the attack and told the teens to get into his car, getting them safely away from the mob.
Meanwhile, a short while later on Saturday night, a group of men exited a vehicle on 16th Avenue and 49th Street in the heart of Borough Park, and began yelling anti-Semitic slurs at Jews on the street. One man reportedly spit at Jewish pedestrians while yelling “kill the Jews.” Another man punched a car mirror, breaking it.
“We are again outraged and disgusted by reports that Jewish individuals were harassed and attacked last night, being blamed for the conflict in the Middle East,” said Scott Richman, ADL New York/New Jersey Regional Director on Sunday in a press release. “Especially in light of Thursday night’s antisemitic violence against Jewish people in midtown Manhattan, this is heinous, unacceptable and must stop now. We’ve said it before and we will continue to say it: scapegoating, blaming, and harassing Jewish people on the streets of New York or anywhere else does nothing but increase division, stoke antisemitism and hatred, and create fear. We thank NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force for investigating these incidents and thank the good Samaritan who helped the two teenagers get to safety in the second incident,” he added.
Rabbi Mendy Mirocznik, executive vice-president of the Rabbinical Alliance of America (RAA), expressed the RAA’s “strongest condemnation of these tragic assaults and offered heartfelt sympathy for the families of victims first and foremost, but also for the Jewish American community. The Jewish American community is reeling from disturbing levels of racist attacks that shockingly have spiked before and during the pandemic and now even higher with tensions in the Middle East.”
Mirocznik continued, “This atmosphere of fear and intimidation affects every American because we are all residents of this country, members of the same society. All Americans must express their outrage at these hateful acts of terror. The RAA prays for the victims’ families. We call for greater solidarity from members of the clergy, community leaders and elected representatives. As Jews, we have a long history of combating anti-Semitism, pogroms, the Holocaust and terror in Israel. We relate to the pain currently being experienced by our community and we therefore call for greater solidarity from every decent, peace-loving American. Hatred cannot become a partisan issue. We must all unite against bigotry and hate.
“The only way to win the war on hate, bigotry and racism is for leaders to publicly highlight the real-life consequences and repercussions caused by hateful words and rhetoric. Americans of all backgrounds must bear the responsibility of taking all measures to tackle this issue of racism, hate and bigotry. We dare not remain silent. We must recognize that hate against one group is hate against all groups. This is the only way to eradicate this poisonous evil.
“The message — in words and in action — must be plain, clear and precise that society will not tolerate anti-Semitic crimes regardless of how one feels about the conflict in the Middle East or any other matter. There is no excuse for attacks on innocent people or vandalism of property. As Americans residing in a culturally diverse society, we must reject all unprovoked violence against anyone peacefully going about their lives. Our nation’s leaders must emphasize the urgent need to coexist in respect and peace. This is the only way we will win the war on anti-Semitism and hate.”
