On January 2, a Hasidic man was assaulted by two perpetrators in what is being investigated as a hate crime, reports Williamsburg News. The incident occurred on Throop Avenue and Bartlett Street.
“Police said two individuals shoved the young man to the ground and beat him with sticks, leaving him bloody,” according to AM NY, “He sustained lacerations to his legs and head. The suspects fled the scene.”
In response to the attack, several Brooklyn elected officials gathered to canvass with the group Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, a grassroots organization and self-proclaimed “home of the Jewish left.” The group included North Brooklyn representatives like City Council Member Lincoln Restler, Assembly Member Emily Gallagher, and representatives from the office of State Senator Julia Salazar.
The canvas, which kicked off with a bystander intervention training, was designed “to share resources and knowledge about disrupting hate crimes and keeping each other safe” said Assembly Member Gallagher on her Instagram page.
Unfortunately, reports of hate-based violence are on the rise in New York City. NBC New York reports that “[h]ate crimes across the five boroughs are up a whopping 100 percent in 2021 compared to the previous year, with 503 tallied thus far…compared to just 22 in 2020.” Anti-Semitic and anti-Asian hate crimes make up a bulk of these crimes, according to NYPD data.
Check out the website Jews for Economic and Racial Justice for more resources.