Antisemitic attack on 3 Jewish men in NJ won't be treated as bias incident
The man entered a Kosher deli, where he yelled at Jews to "take off your hat."
By DONNA RACHEL EDMUNDSOrthodox Jews gather to celebrate the completion of study of the entire Talmud religious text in East Rutherford, New Jersey(photo credit: AFP PHOTO)
Three Jewish men have been subject to an antisemitic attack in a kosher food establishment in New Jersey, with at least one being scratched on his face.Police were called to Sammy's Bagels in Teaneck, New Jersey shortly before noon on December 25 receiving reports of an altercation that had taken place inside the food establishment.Selling a wide variety of edibles including pizza, bagels, coffee and made-to-order salads, the premises are always very busy. According to the Jewish News Syndicate, at the time of the altercation the shop was packed with customers.In a joint statement, Township Manager Dean Kazinci and Police Chief Glenn O’Reilly explained what occurred: “The preliminary investigation revealed that this person entered the store and confronted two patrons. He engaged in a verbal dispute with the first patron by using an expletive while telling him to take off his hat."He confronted a second patron inside the store using the same language. This second confrontation turned into a shoving match at which time the patron received a scratch to his face. When the suspect exited the store, he made his way to Palisade Avenue where he confronted a third individual. Again, he made the same comment.”Yeshiva World News has reported that the man yelled something like "the Jews killed my God," while other witnesses reported that he had shouted "take off your f***ing hat."The assailant fled on foot, and was later located by a patrol supervisor who recognized him from previous incidents. He was reportedly taken to hospital for evaluation.The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office has said the attack is not to be treated is a bias incident, JNS has reported, raising questions within the community.The Deputy Mayor of Teaneck, Elie Katz, said: “It is really ridiculous already that in the state of New Jersey, the bias crime laws are either so weak or convoluted that the bar seems to be impossible to reach. Not sure what it will take for our state legislators to address this."I am sure they are all working very hard, but as bias incidents continue to rise in the U.S., it would seem that one of the ways to combat them would be to first call them for what they are and then prosecute accordingly.”