Hassidic man assaulted in New York - as passersby stood and watched
The website 'The Algemeiner,' which originally reported the attack, quoted the victim, who wished to stay anonymous.
By DANIELLE ZIRIFollowers of ultra-orthodox Jewish rabbi Moses Teitelbaum of the Satmar Hassidim pack the Congregation Yetev Lev D'Satmar in the town of Kirays Joel, New York(photo credit: REUTERS)
NEW YORK - A Hassidic Jewish man was reportedly assaulted in the lobby of a 5th Avenue office building in Manhattan this week. The victim said he was punched in the neck.The website The Algemeiner, which originally reported the attack, quoted the victim, who wished to stay anonymous, saying: “He punched me in the neck and there was security [there] and nobody interfered. They were just watching.”“I got bruised and security didn’t even call 911, nothing. They’re just standing there and watching,” he added.A witness, Yoni Davidov, confirmed to The Algemeiner that security guards and witnesses in the vicinity did nothing to stop the assault.“It bothered me that no one attended to the man. People were just watching,” Davidov said. “[They] didn’t do anything. It was also shocking to me how everyone in the lobby and in the adjacent Starbucks was sitting quietly and no one even called the police or offered the man any help.”According to Davidov, the Hassidic man was eating a sandwich at a table in the lobby when the attacker, whom he described as “Arab-looking," demanded that he move. When the victim refused to do so, the man started punching him before fleeing the scene.Davidov, who stated he believed the incident was a hate crime against Jews, said the victim didn’t want to call the police right away, but they eventually arrived on the scene and reviewed security camera footage of the attack.