By: Fern Sidman
Last Thursday evening, Joseph Borgen, 29, left his accounting office and headed down to Times Square on the subway to attend a pro-Israel rally. Little did he know that the confluence of events that would take shape when he exited the subway station would send shock waves around the world.
As anti-Semitism reaches a fever pitch, attacks on Jews have become commonplace since the beginning of the war that the terrorist group Hamas launched against Israel through the constant barrage of rocket fire into the Jewish state.
Upon exiting the Times Square subway station, Borgen was set upon by a bloodthirsty gang of pro-Hamas terrorists and beaten mercilessly with crutches, sticks and other dangerous objects. After his attackers beat him, they then sprayed pepper spray on his face.
“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,” said Borgen from his home where he is recuperating from multiple injuries he sustained including a black eye, a concussion and bruises all over his body.
“I got off the subway at 6:30 and started walking to the rally and even texted a friend to say that I am on my way. 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 said.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Borgen said that he really wanted to find out why these people hated him so much. “The look of hate was definitely in their eyes, but I felt that despite our cultural, religious and political differences, we should all try to get along, “ he said.
In the conversation with the Jewish Voice, Borgen said that he really appreciated the outpouring of support that he has received since this horrific event. “One detective who is working on this case told me that he hasn’t slept since it happened and he is totally committed to bringing the others in the gang to justice. For that and much more, I am exceptionally grateful,” he said.
Since the arrest of one of the attackers, Waseem Awawdeh, 23, on Friday, Borgen has given a great deal of thought to this and wants to see justice done. Subsequent to his apprehension by NYPD officers, Awawdeh, who is from the predominantly Muslim neighborhood of Bay Ridge, was charged with second-degree hate crime assault, a second-degree gang assault, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon.
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.
As for Borgen, he told the Jewish Voice that in the upcoming days he planned to be working with the grand jury who are seeking indictments.
