Two teenage boys chased an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, a video published by Williamsburg News on Sunday showed.
In the video, the boys are running toward the fleeing man. A camera on Roebling Street shows that they ran past two other ultra-Orthodox men, one of whom made a gesture and appeared to say something, but they did not appear to chase the suspects.
Once they turn onto Lee Avenue, the Jewish man's shtreimel (fur hat) falls off, one of his pursuers picks it up, holds it in the air with both hands, then quickly drops it on the ground again.
2 perps are seen chasing after a Hasidic Jewish person on Roebling St & Lee Ave last night, if you have more information contact @WspuShomrim and @NYPD90Pct. pic.twitter.com/FGeZApGaUh
— WILLIAMSBURG NEWS (@WMSBG) August 21, 2022
Antisemitism in New York
The Jerusalem Post reported in January that there had been a 300% increase in antisemitic hate crimes in New York City in January 2022 compared to January 2021.
Fifteen separate incidents targeting Jews were reported, compared to four the previous January.
In one case, an ultra-Orthodox man was beaten with an object until he had a laceration on his head.