(JTA) — An identifiably Jewish man was beaten and choked while walking home from Shabbat services in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn.
It is the second such attack in two weeks.
The Jewish man was walking home from prayer services at about 1:30 on Saturday afternoon. He told the CrownHights.info news website that he said “good afternoon” to a man who was smoking a cigar on a street corner.
“As soon as [I greeted] him he began yelling at me ‘you fake Jews, who are you saying hello to? Your fake Jews and you stole all my money and robbed me, and stole my mortgage and my house. I want to kill you!’” the news website quoted the man as saying.
The victim said he walked away from the man quickly but that the assailant caught up with the Jewish man and put him in a chokehold and threatened to kill him.
Two women eventually separated the victim from the assailant and told him to run. He called the Jewish ambulance service Hatzalah from his home, which notified police. The victim sustained a cracked rib along with swelling, bruising and scratches over his body.
Police have opened an investigation into the attack as an assault motivated by bias.
Last Friday night a Jewish man was assaulted in the Crown Heights near 770 Eastern Parkway, the international headquarters of the Chabad movement.
The Anti-Defamation League announced on Sunday that it is offering $5,000 rewards for information leading to the arrests and convictions of the individuals responsible for both attacks.
“We unequivocally condemn these senseless assaults,” said Evan R. Bernstein, ADL New York regional director. “We appreciate the leadership of the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force who are investigating these assaults as hate crimes. Hopefully these rewards will encourage anyone who may have seen something to come forward.”
ADL tracked 11 incidents of assaults motivated by anti-Semitism across New York State in 2017, seven of which occurred in Brooklyn. Statewide, incidents of anti-Semitism jumped over 90 percent in 2017.
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