A Jewish man suffered a near-fatal antisemitic attack in Brooklyn in an incident that the NYPD is investigating as a hate crime.
As The Jerusalem Post reported at the time, a visibly Jewish man, P., was slashed in the face while walking on the intersection between Flatbush and Lafayette avenues.P., a father of two daughters under three, was approached by a man in a mask who shouted “F*** you guys,” which P. said was an obvious reference to Jews. The attacker proceeded to slash P.'s face with a blade before walking away from the scene.After the attacker left, P. called 911 and the emergency medical service Hatzalah and then removed his shirt to tie around his face to stem the bleeding, his mother told the Post.P. called the attack a “vicious act of hate,” which was one more in a “troubling rise of Jew-hate crimes in our city, state, and country.
“I trust that the NYPD Hate Crime Unit will take this case with the seriousness it deserves and [will] hopefully apprehend the anti-Jewish, masked individual before other Jews are targeted and attacked,” he added.P. required 18 internal and external stitches and two hours of facial plastic surgery to seal up the wound, which stretches from the corner of his mouth to his ear, his mother said. She added that her son now finds it difficult to speak and sleep and could not eat solid food for several days.“I was walking down the street to go to the Apple store, and instead, I get slashed in the face,” P. told NBC New York. “I felt the blood gushing down my face.”P.'s mother said, “He approached my son, saying, “F*** you guys. ‘Guys’ is us. ‘Guys’ is the Jewish community. I cannot stand quiet while so many Jews are being attacked.”
Attacker yet to be identified
In her conversation with the Post, P.'s mother thanked the NYPD Hate Crime Unit for its assistance in finding the attacker but noted the challenges the investigative team faces as the attacker was fully masked, wearing a puffy coat, and almost fully covered beside his eyes. He has yet to be identified.According to the NYPD, there have been 312 incidents of antisemitic hate crimes so far in 2024, as opposed to the 230 recorded in 2023.The Jew Hate Database urged authorities to take swift and decisive action and also called on law enforcement and local leaders to condemn acts of hate.The organization is offering a $1,000 reward to anyone who provides information that leads to the attacker’s arrest.