A sixth man was indicted for a 2021 New York City gang-beating of a pro-Israel man, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office announced on Thursday.
Salem Seleiman, 28, was charged on Thursday with a hate crime, involving second and third degree assault, and a first degree attempted gang assault for his participation in the beating of Joseph Borgen, 29, who was on his way to a pro-Israel rally when he was confronted by Seleiman and six other men.
They chased Borgen until Mohammad Said Othman, 29, grabbed the victim, threw him to the ground, sat on his chest, and repeatedly punched him in the face.Mahmoud Musa, 25, kicked the victim in the head multiple times, and Mohammed Othman, 26, kicked him and pepper-sprayed him. Borgen was also beaten with a crutch by Waseem Awawdeh, 23. When Borgen was on the ground, Seleiman allegedly approached and kicked the victim in the face.“Filthy Jew,” the men allegedly taunted the victim according to the DA’s office. “Dirty Jew.”
When people attempted to intervene in the attack near Times Square, Seleiman warned them not to interfere. Othman also pepper-sprayed those who attempted to stop the assault.“As alleged, Salem Seleiman disrupted a peaceful pro-Israel rally when he participated in a brutal antisemitic attack on a Jewish man,” said District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “Seleiman’s alleged conduct was abhorrent, and many of the other individuals who joined him have already been convicted and are serving state prison sentences.”
Violently assaulting someone because of their religion is unacceptable, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners, community groups and local leaders to address attacks on the Jewish community.”Seleiman was arrested in Tampa in May and extradited to Manhattan, where he was charged at the New York State Supreme Court.The other defendants in the case, which occurred during the tensions of the 2021 Operation ‘Guardian of the Walls’ conflict between Israel and Gazan terrorist groups, all pleaded guilty and were sentenced, according to the DA’s Office.
Bringing violence to a peaceful protest
In January, Bragg announced that Said Othman, had been sentenced to three years in prison. Musa was sentenced to seven years in November, and Othman was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in December. According to JTA, Awawdeh was sentenced to 18 months in prison.The January DA press statement said the attackers had coordinated their attacks and had discussed ways to conceal their crimes.Othman had told the others that he “would not let the rally be peaceful” and Said Othman said he “wanted to burn an Israeli flag.”“These defendants violently targeted and assaulted another individual simply
because he is Jewish,” Bragg said in January. “While this office will always support the right to peacefully protest and engage in open dialogue, these multi-year prison sentences make clear that physically attacking someone because of their religion is never acceptable.”