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Man in yarmulke harassed in Brooklyn, police say
By
Michelle Bocanegra
Published Aug 18, 2023
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By
Michelle Bocanegra
Published Aug 18, 2023
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Police say a man was harassed in Brooklyn while wearing a yarmulke and what officials described as “traditional Jewish attire” — an incident authorities were investigating as a hate crime on Friday.
The 49-year-old man was on a busy section of 18th Avenue in Borough Park when two men on a scooter driving near him stopped around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to police.
One of the riders got off the scooter and knocked the man’s yarmulke to the ground, before getting back on the vehicle and zipping west on 18th Avenue. The man was not injured, police said.
As of Friday morning, no arrests had been made, and police were working to identify suspects.
The incident came the same day police arrested an East Harlem man in connection to an antisemitic act of vandalism on the Upper East Side.
Lenny De La Rosa, 21, was charged with criminal mischief as a hate crime and making graffiti at the Orthodox Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on East 85th Street. Police said he used a marker to deface an electronic sign while members of the congregation were inside on Saturday, Aug. 12.
Last month man broke into a yoga studio in Sheepshead Bay and drew a swastika on its chalkboard, ransacking the business and stealing a religious scroll. Police arrested William Klare, 40, in late July.
Catalina Gonella contributed reporting.
Tagged
public safety
brooklyn
anti-semitic attack
hate crime
Michelle Bocanegra
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