Police are looking for several men who were accused of threatening and harassing two women in separate incidents last week after an offensive video of a group chasing after one of the victims circulated online during a protest outside a prominent synagogue in Brooklyn last week.
One female protester was injured and another was put under a “sneaky” threat. I got caught up in the tape – On Thursday night, near Chabadrubavich’s World Headquarters, Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement Sunday that he had announced the NYPD probe.
The fierce clash between anti-Israel protesters and a group of Jews in Hasid in Crown Heights came in at the synagogue by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gwil.
“New York City will always be a place where people can protest peacefully, but we will not tolerate violence, trespassing, intimidation or threats.” said in a statement.
Adams said the female protesters were separated from her group, saying they were “harassed and injured by the protesters.”
Photos taken on the post show blood on the face of a protester wearing kefier during a demonstration on Thursday.
It was not immediately clear whether Adams was referring to the same demonstrator.
The second woman, who was not part of the protest, was “threatened by rebels and exposed to vile threats,” Adams said.
Footage of the horrifying situation posted on social media shows a woman walking alongside a police officer as a pack of men and teenage boys, wrapped around most of her face.
According to the video, one rebel pushed the garbage container away in her direction, and the traffic cone was also thrown at the woman’s head. She is also said to have been kicked, pushed and spewed while the man was wrapping her.
Video shows several men yelled horrifying insults at the woman, including references to sexual assault.
She was eventually led by a police cruiser to cheers from the protesters.
Woman in her 30s, He told the Associated Press On Sunday, she was mistaken for an anti-Israeli protester after she left her home to investigate a police helicopter overhead in response to a protest.
“As soon as I pulled up my scarf, a group of 100 men came in and wrapped me up,” said the woman who didn’t want to be identified.
“They cried at me, threatened to rape me, and “recited death to the Arabs.” I thought the police would protect me from the mob, but they did nothing to intervene,” she added.
The bruiseful woman said she felt “pure fear.”
“At that point I realized I couldn’t lead this man’s mob into my home,” she said. “I couldn’t go anywhere. I didn’t know what to do. I was just scared.”
William C Lopez/New York Post
After a traumatic pursuit, the victim, the lifelong New Yorker, said she was afraid of leaving the house.
“I’m afraid to move around the neighborhood I’ve lived in for 10 years,” she told the Associated Press. “No one in a position of power really seems to care.”
Police said 28-year-old Oscar Vidal of Bayonne, New Jersey, was arrested and charged with assault, criminal mischief and harassment, but Adams said several more had been attacked by subpoena. It is unknown which arrests are connected.
The mayor said in a follow-up statement that at least one of the women spoke to officials.
“Hate is no place in our city. The person responsible is accountable,” Hezoner said.
A Chabad-Lubavitch spokesman condemned anti-Israel protesters and rebels in a statement to the Associated Press.
“The violent provocateurs who called for the genocide of terrorists and Jews in support of terrorism – outside the synagogue, some of the worst anti-Semitic violence in American history was committed, with many residents sharing a deep bond with the victims of October 7th.
The neighborhood around the synagogue was the site of the 1991 Crown Heights riots.
“We condemn the crude language and violence of a small breakaway group of young people, such behavior is completely unacceptable and we are against the values of the Torah.
Anti-Israel protesters clashed with police outside another Brooklyn synagogue where Ben Gwil is scheduled to give a speech before it was cancelled on Sunday.
