New York wave of antisemitic crime continues after Orthodox man in Crown Heights hospitalised in 'vicious assault'

— NYPD Hate Crimes (@NYPDHateCrimes) January 31, 2019

The man was taken to hospital with cuts to his face. The same night, another, younger Jewish man was also attacked a few streets away.  

Last year, the number of reported incidents of antisemitism in the city more than doubled, with fifteen incidents in January alone. 

The Crown Heights neighbourhood is particularly well known for its community of Lubavitch Chassidim.

Rabbi Motti Seligson, a member of the local community, wrote on social media: “This happened in Crown Heights, not in Charlottesville nor at the hands of White Supremacists. 

“I’m told they stole nothing just brutally beat the guy in what is clearly a premeditated attack.”

Yaakov Berman, a member of the local community and founder of the Jewish Future Alliance, tweeted: “We ask what is going wrong in Crown Heights when innocent Jews are being beaten in the streets?  Is there an atmosphere that is encouraging violence or antisemitism? 

“And, an equally important question, where is the public outrage? Indeed, why isn’t this front page headlines?”

Mr Berman also wrote: “This is but the latest incident in a recent spike in hate crimes against Jews in the Crown Heights community. Some ten people were violently attacked in the last 60 days alone.”

The NYPD said it had increased both the number of patrol cars and foot patrols in the vicinity.