Attack was second such incident; NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating.
Police in New York City are investigating an antisemitic attack on three Jewish teenagers as they stood outside a yeshiva in the Midwood section of Brooklyn on Monday night.
The three students were targeted by five teenagers who screamed “Free Palestine” as they carried out the assault, punching one of the students in the face and pelting the group with eggs.
The attack took place on the corner of Avenue M and East 18th St, the location of another antisemitic outrage in May, when a Yeshiva student was assaulted by five people who similarly yelled “Free Palestine.”
The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is leading the investigation into the attack.
Local councilman Kalman Yeger condemned the attack, which he depicted as part of a growing trend of antisemitic assaults in New York.
Antisemitic incidents in the city have increased precipitously in the last two years, with a rise of more than 50 percent recorded by the NYPD in 2021.
“Aside from the obvious questions (like, how does pummeling someone with eggs in Brooklyn ‘free’ anything), this hate crime is just one more in the continuous rolling pogrom that identifies New York City,” Yeger tweeted.
Yeger added his concern that the perpetrators of hate crimes against Jews believe there will be no significant penalties incurred as a result of their actions.
“While I appreciate that NYPD Hate Crimes and NYPD 70 Pct are taking this seriously, the environment in which this incident happens is one where criminals know there are no consequences for crime in New York, particularly hate crimes, and particularly against Jews,” he said.
Ari Kagan, a Councilman representing Brooklyn’s 47th District, called the attack “terrible and unacceptable.”
“Clearly this is a hate crime committed by antisemites,” Kagan tweeted.