(New York Jewish Week via JTA) — In the wake of an assault on a Jewish man in Brooklyn early Saturday morning, the Anti-Defamation League is offering up to $5,000 for information about the person or persons responsible for the attack.
The New York Police Department is seeking to identify a suspect who, on Saturday, Jan. 22 at approximately 1:20 a.m., assaulted a 21-year-old Hasidic man at Troy Ave and Carroll St. in the borough’s Crown Heights section. The victim was approached by another man who crossed the street and punched him in the nose, according to the NYPD’s Hate Crimes unit.
https://twitter.com/NYPDHateCrimes/status/1485455197883310081
“These attacks on Jewish individuals appear to have become normalized, but we must not let this be the case – an attack on anyone based on their Jewish identity or any identity is abhorrent and should not be tolerated,” Scott Richman, ADL’s New York/New Jersey regional director, said in a statement. “We hope that this reward offering will help us send that message to the community.”
Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.
Last month, the ADL offered a similarly sized reward following a Dec. 26 attack on a Blake Zavadsky in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Zavadsky, who was wearing an Israel Defense Forces sweatshirt, was approached by a man who spewed anti-Jewish sentiments and punched him multiple times in the face.
The NYPD arrested Othman Suleiman, a 27-year-old from Staten Island on Jan. 11. He was charged with third-degree assault and aggravated assault, both as suspected hate crimes.
According to the NYPD Hate Crimes Dashboard, there were 198 reported antisemitic incidents in New York City in 2021. That’s 38 percent — a plurality — of a total of 538 reported hate crimes last year.
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