April 2025 Brooklyn incident
On April 24, 2025, a mob of pro-Israel Orthodox Jewish men and boys chased and assaulted a woman who was mistaken for a pro-Palestinian protestor.[1][2][3]
Background
[edit]On April 23, 2025, protests arose against the far-right Israeli security minister Itamar Ben Gvir as he exited an event near Yale. He has been accused of war crimes in respect to civilian deaths during Israel's invasion of Gaza. Ben Gvir has at least 8 convictions including supporting a terrorist organization and incitement to racism.[4]
On Thursday,[vague] near the global headquarters of the Chabad Lubavitch Movement, a Hasidic Jewish dynasty located in Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood, pro-Palestine and pro-Israel protestors clashed upon the appearance of Ben Gvir.[5]
Incident
[edit]On April 24, 2025 at 10:30pm, the woman walked to the street to investigate the activity. By then, the protests were mostly dispersed. Upon being mistook for a protestor, the pro-Israel mob chased, kicked, spit on and threw objects at the woman unprovoked. Wanting to avoid being filmed without consent, she covered her face with a scarf, which exacerbated the aggressiveness of the mob. The men were also reported to have chanted rape threats, and the racist epithet "Death to Arabs".[6][1]
She was eventually escorted by a lone New York Police Department officer to safety. After moving several blocks, the officer placed the woman into a police vehicle, prompting one of the rioters to shout: “Get her!” Believing that the woman was being arrested, the rioters cheered as she was driven away.[6][1]
Responses
[edit]- A Chabad-Lubavitch spokesman, Rabbi Motti Seligson, denounced the mob, but also the anti-Ben Gvir protesters. He responded by saying: "We condemn the crude language and violence of the small breakaway group of young people; such actions are entirely unacceptable and wholly antithetical to the Torah's values. The fact that a possibly uninvolved bystander got pulled into the melee further underscores the point."[6]
- Mayor Eric Adams responded by saying that the police are investigating "a series of incidents stemming from clashing protests". He also stated: "New York City will always be a place where people can peacefully protest, but we will not tolerate violence, trespassing, menacing, or threatening."[6]
- CAIR-NY Executive Director Afaf Nasher, Esq condemned the violence, and called for the police to investigate the incident as a hate crime.[7]
- World Socialist Web Site condemned the rioters, describing them as "Zionist-fascist thugs". They also criticized the police for their failure to prosecute any of the participants of the violence.[8]
- Elise Stefanik, a US congresswoman serving in New York, who has received $359,494 in political donations from AIPAC, did not condemn the violence by the pro-Israel mob, but accused the pro-Palestinian protestors as: "attacking Jews as they gathered in peace".[9][10]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Mob chased Brooklyn woman after mistaking her for protester at speech by Israeli security minister". AP News. 2025-04-28. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ "Mob chased Brooklyn woman after mistaking her for protester at speech by Israeli security minister". The Independent. 2025-04-28. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ Press, Associated (2025-04-28). "Mob of Orthodox Jewish men chases woman after protest at Brooklyn synagogue". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ "Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's Minister of Chaos". The New Yorker. 2023-03-13. Archived from the original on 2023-03-13. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ Gingras, Brynn; Sung, Carolyn; Prokupecz, Shimon; Yan, Holly (2025-04-23). "Palestinian supporters confront far-right Israeli security minister as he leaves an event near Yale". CNN. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ a b c d "Hundreds of Jewish men chase woman misidentified as pro-Palestinian protester". Straight Arrow News. 2025-04-28. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ "Breaking: CAIR, CAIR-NY Demand Hate Crime Charges After Pro-Israel Mob Chanting 'Death to Arabs' Attacks NY Woman". Retrieved 2025-05-08.
- ^ "Hundreds of Zionist fascists riot through New York, chanting "death to Arabs"". World Socialist Web Site. 2025-04-30. Retrieved 2025-05-08.
- ^ Stefanik, Elise (25 April 2025). "Elise Stefanik". Retrieved May 9, 2025.
- ^ "Rep. Elise Stefanik - Campaign Finance Summary". OpenSecrets. Retrieved 2025-05-08.