Several identifiably Jewish men and boys were attacked in a string of assaults in the Borough Park community of Brooklyn on the same night.
Three of the attacks late Friday night involved the same passenger car over five blocks, the Yeshiva World News reported. Surveillance cameras captured each incident, in which several men jump out of the car and chase Hasidic men and boys. In one incident, the passengers punched a Hasidic man after their vehicle pinned him against a parked car. Victims also were punched in two other incidents.
Yeshiva World News reported that the victims are hesitant to file reports with the New York Police Department since suspects often are charged only with harassment.
The number of hate crimes against Jews in New York City rose significantly over the first nine months of this year. The NYPD reported 311 total hate crimes through September, as opposed to 250 through the same period in 2018. Some 52 per cent of the reported hate crimes, or 163, targeted Jews. Over the same period last year, the NYPD reported 108 anti-Semitic hate crimes.
