Jewish communities on high alert as police investigate antisemitic attacks in Brooklyn
NEW YORK -- Jewish communities are on high alert as police investigate a string of antisemitic attacks in New York City.
According to NYPD, there have been at least three separate hate crime incidents in different Brooklyn neighborhoods over the last week, CBS2's Andrea Grymes reported Friday.
Video shows a Jewish man walking with two kids when someone runs up from behind and hits him in the back of the head. It happened May 7 on Roebling Street between Lee and Division in Williamsburg.
"It makes me feel first of all unsafe," said Elchanan Teitz, a Crown Heights resident. "We want to respect people, we want people to respect us."
On May 6, police say a man randomly punched a 32-year-old man in the head near President Street and Utica Avenue in Crown Heights. The suspect, who was later arrested, also kicked the man in the legs and made antisemitic remarks, police said.
On May 10, an attack was caught on video in Midwood. Police said the suspect punched an 18-year-old man in the eye on Avenue M and East 18th Street. The victim was wearing traditional Jewish attire and the suspect made a comment about Palestine, police said.
"We have to be aware of what's going on. That's the first thing. We have to be mindful of our community here and our communities around New York and around the states. This is happening too many times, too often," said Mendy Coen, a Brooklyn resident and director-general of the United States Chaplain Corps.
The NYPD reports antisemitic attacks have surged citywide this year. As of May 1, there have been 95 reported anti-Jewish hate crimes, a 72 percent increase from the same period in 2021, when there were 55.
Two victims of the past week's attacks were hospitalized. Both are expected to recover.