ADL decries anti-Muslim attacks

Anti-Muslim attacks have “absolutely no place in our neighborhoods,” the Anti-Defamation League says in a statement.

The ADL condemns an attack over the weekend on a New York Police Department officer Aml Elsokary and her teenage son. Elsokary, who wears a hijab, was off duty at the time of the incident in Brooklyn.

Elsokary and her son were accosted by an assailant who shoved her son and yelled “ISIS (expletive), I will cut your throat, go back to your country!” Christopher Nelson, 36, was arrested Sunday and charged with a hate crime and first-degree aggravated harassment.

“We are disturbed and shocked that Officer Elsokary and her son were subjected to apparent hate-fueled threats and bigotry,” said Evan Bernstein, New York Regional Director. “Officer Elsokary risks her safety and well-being every day for the City of New York and her community. Attacks and threats against her and her son are completely unacceptable and have absolutely no place in our neighborhoods. We stand with Mayor de Blasio and the NYPD in condemning this heinous crime.”

The New York Police Department on Monday said it has seen a dramatic rise in hate crimes following the election of Donald Trump, with the majority of incidents directed at Jews.

— JTA