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‘No one should be afraid’: Jew attacked by pro-Palestinian thugs addresses community rally

Joseph Borgen praised the NYPD for coming to his assistance, but said he had not heard from either NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio or NY State Governor Andrew Cuomo.

By Algemeiner Staff

The Jewish man attacked in midtown Manhattan by pro-Palestinian thugs last week told a rally in Long Island on Thursday night that his ordeal should never again be repeated.

“Moving forward I want to prevent what happened to me to happen to anyone,” 29-year-old Joseph Borgen told the Five Towns rally organized by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which said it drew some 4,000 people.

“No one should be afraid of leaving their house and getting hit in the street,” Borgen said.

While Borgen praised the NYPD for coming to his assistance, he said he had not heard from either New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio or New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, Newsday reported.

On May 20, Borgen was kicked, beaten and pepper-sprayed by five assailants, two of whom have already been arrested on hate crimes charges. The Long Island native, who wears a kippah, had been on his way to a pro-Israel rally in Times Square when he was attacked by the mob, some of whom masked their faces with Palestinian keffiyehs.

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Separately on Friday, the NYPD released new photos of the three suspects who are still being sought.

The Five Towns rally also heard from Israel’s Consul-General in New York.

“On behalf of Israel we are here to fight rabid disease,” envoy Israel Nitzan said. “People like Joseph Borgen are innocent victims of hate, we’ve seen enough. When criminals decide what religion is acceptable we’re not free.”

On the opposite coast of the country, Jews in California descended on the state’s Capitol in Sacramento for a rally against rising antisemitism in the US.

“We felt like we had to come together as a community to stand up against this blatant antisemitism, which is what it is,” Willie Recht, the chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region, told The Sacramento Bee on Thursday.