Israeli student stabbed in Crown Heights in suspected hate crime
Two assailants ask Chabad man if he is Jewish, then stab him with screwdriver, lightly injuring him in the arm
An Israeli student was stabbed and lightly injured while walking on a street in the Crown Heights neighborhood of New York City early Saturday morning.
The incident is reportedly being investigated by police as a suspected hate crime.
The attack happened at 2 a.m. on Saturday as the man was walking on Union Street toward Troy Avenue, the Crownheights.info website reported, citing a police report.
Two men approached the student and asked him if he was Jewish. They then stabbed him in the arm, apparently with a screwdriver.
The student was able to return home and from there called Hatzalah, the Jewish emergency service, which took him to the hospital where he was treated. He later returned home.
The Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn is the home base of the Chabad Hasidic movement.
In a tweet, Yaacov Behrman, a community representative for Chabad, said he had spoken with the student.
“Despite being visibly traumatized, the victim expressed gratitude for not having sustained more severe injuries,” Behrman reported. “This incident is deeply concerning, and we have full confidence in the NYPD’s ability to conduct a thorough investigation and apprehend the perpetrators.”
The incident is being investigated as a hate crime, Behrmam said.
“We are aware of this incident and are reaching out to law enforcement and community partners,” the New York division of the Anti-Defamation League tweeted.
Police recorded 100 anti-Jewish hate crimes in New York City between the start of the year and the beginning of June, according to a Times of Israel analysis.
The figures showed Jews have been targeted more than any other group, by far, every month of the year.
The attacks include physical assaults, vandalism, verbal harassment and property destruction. Many target visibly identifiable Jews in Brooklyn, or Jewish institutions, such as synagogues.
There were 262 confirmed hate crimes against Jews in New York City in 2022, close to half of all hate crimes recorded by the city that year.
The Times of Israel Community.