A 65-year-old Orthodox Jewish man was punched in the face, kicked and beaten Tuesday in a vicious attack on a New York City street that took place on the second day of Chanukah.
The victim was attacked because he was an easily identifiable Jew, according to City Council member Chaim Deutsch, who represents the Midwood section of Brooklyn.
He was easy to pick out because he was wearing a black yarmulke; and as he was being punched, kicked and beaten, his attacker yelled anti-Semitic slurs at him.
Police who were called to the scene by witnesses immediately summoned an ambulance; paramedics swiftly evacuated the victim to Mount Sinai Medical Center in the city.
Shortly after the attack, the perpetrator was taken into custody and arrested by the NYPD. The BIAS unit has since taken over the case, which is being treated as a hate crime.
“We can’t even get through the eight days of Chanukah without a hate crime here in New York City,” Deutsch commented in a Facebook post about the attack.
“Thank you NYPD Hate Crimes for the immediate arrest.”
The Americans Against Antisemitism organization said in a statement it is calling on District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. and District Attorneys throughout the city to “send a clear message regarding hate crimes: If you hate, you will pay a very steep price.”