Jewish ‘Polar Bearing’ Still a Big Sport for Some Blacks
New York City attacks on Jews triples in 2013, Anti-Defamation League says
The rise in the number of physical attacks on Jews in the city came as the overall number of anti-Semitic incidents in New York and across the country — everything from hateful graffiti to vandalism and harassment — fell by 18% last year.
BY Corky Siemaszko — Wednesday, April 2nd, 2014 ‘The New York Daily News’
The number of Jews who were assaulted in New York City last year more than tripled, and seven were victims of vicious “knockout game” attacks.
But the Anti-Defamation League, which tallied 22 assaults in 2013 compared with six the year before, was at a loss to explain the sudden jump.
The rise in the number of physical attacks on Jews came as the overall number of anti-Semitic incidents — everything from hateful graffiti to vandalism and harassment — fell last year in New York and across the country.
“There’s not always a specific reason” for increases in anti-Jewish assaults, said Evan Bernstein, the ADL’s New York regional director. “What we have seen in the past is that when things happen in Israel, for example, it could stir things up here. But that wasn’t the case last year.”
The increase in knockout attacks, which typically involve sucker punches to an unsuspecting victim’s head, may be attributed to the amount of knockout videos that were posted on social media sites, Bernstein said.
Easily identifiable Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn were often the victims of these sick stunts.
They ranged in age from a 12-year-old girl who was punched in the back of the head near Kingston Ave. to a 78-year-old Jewish woman who was punched in the face by a group of teens.
“The bottom line is that Jews were targeted because they were Jews,” Bernstein said. “With the advent of social media, the game picked up speed last year.”
In New York City, there was a nearly 23% drop in incidents — including assaults, harassment and vandalism. Last year saw 133 incidents, compared with 172 for 2012.
Nationwide, the ADL tallied 751 anti-Semitic incidents in 2013 — a 19 percent decline from the 927 reported in 2012.
“We are pleased to see a decrease in the overall number of anti-Semitic incidents,” Bernstein said. “However, the rise of assaults in certain areas of New York City — in particular Brooklyn — is both disturbing and a sobering reminder that anti-Semitism is not just history but remains a current event.”
Here is the breakdown of anti-Semitic incidents by borough:
Brooklyn - 64
Manhattan - 43
Queens - 13
Bronx - 5
Staten Island - 8
Note from Suzannah:
ps http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh9TedhfthE&sns=em please help this go viral so shame MD, my attacker, NYPD and IAB thank you.
