A 16-year-old Jewish teenager was shopping with her family at a mall in New Jersey when she was accosted by pro-Palestinian protesters, the Jewish Chronicle and Daily Mail reported on 2 January. The girl had been wearing an IDF sweatshirt at the time, a popular clothing item often worn by teens returning from a gap year or trip to Israel, which could be the reason she was targeted with the abuse.
East Rutherford, NJ -a Jewish family of four, including a 12-year-old & a 16-year-old, faced verbal and physical assault at the American Dream Mall.The 16-year-old daughter, donning an IDF sweatshirt, endured offensive screams, such as "you're a whore, your mother is a whore,… pic.twitter.com/EiXKkwkKGm
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) January 2, 2024
The teenager, who was with her parents and 12-year-old sibling, was pushed at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford. The attacker shouted “You're a w****, your mother is a w****, your grandmother is a w****" and yelled "free Palestine," the JC reported.
In this video, we see the female attacker slap the Jewish woman's phone out of her hand. pic.twitter.com/t9tEzvH1MW
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) January 2, 2024
The father attempted to break the attacker’s contact with his daughter, pushing her away, and the mother stressed “You’re cursing my child.” The mother asked the woman, “Have you ever been [to Israel?]” The attacker eventually responds “I am from Palestine” in an American accent as she continues to curse at the family and scream.
Response to the incident
The American Dream Mall is known for having kosher dining options and being a location frequented often by local Orthodox Jewry.
The incident has inspired concerns for locals, as one X user expressed, “American dream mall is about 10 minutes away from my house, makes me sick to know people like this exist near me. I don’t care if you’re a Jew or a Muslim, you have no right to assault people you disagree with. Hope these 2 are identified by law enforcement as they present a real danger to civilians.”
American dream mall is about 10 minutes away from my house, makes me sick to know people like this exist near me. I don’t care if you’re a Jew or a Muslim, you have no right to assault people you disagree with. Hope these 2 are identified by law enforcement as they present a real…
— Klouds (@klouds33) January 2, 2024
Another social media user wrote “I’ve been to this mall a dozen times. It’s frequented by a lot of religious Jews. Since October 7th, I avoid wearing a kippah in public and didn’t wear it when I was at this mall two weeks ago.”
I’ve been to this mall a dozen times. It’s frequented by a lot of religious Jews. Since October 7th, I avoid wearing a kippah in public and didn’t wear it when I was at this mall two weeks ago.
— Ben (@BenRTrader) January 2, 2024