2 attacks against Jewish men, 1 called 'fake jew,' in Brooklyn
CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Two unprovoked bias attacks against visibly Jewish men in Brooklyn over the last week have rattled the community. The latest attack occurred Saturday morning, when a man was brutally beaten while returning home from his daily prayers.
Menachem Moskowitz, 52, said he was holding on to a fence while being jumped and then choked. Luckily, there were two people nearby who ran up to help.
Moskowitz was walking home after his Sunday afternoon prayers when he casually said "hello" to his attacker.
"He started a tyrant," Moskowitz said. "'I hate Jews, you stole my money, call my mortgage, my house.'"
Two people walking by jumped in to help, allowing Moskowitz, shaken and injured, to get away.
"There are a lot of people, unfortunately, that hate Jews and want to kill the Jews," his wife Channah Moskowitz said.
The local community has become increasingly concerned, as police say this is the second attack in a week on a member of the Jewish community. One man was punched several times in the face nearby on Eastern Parkway.
"Two attacks in less than nine days, people are scared," said the victim, Ari Ellis.
He remembers every moment of it, every punch, every kick. He was brutally assaulted on his way to the Lubavitcher synagogue on Eastern Parkway.
"They had been walking behind us apparently," Ellis said. He says he was confronted by one young man and in an instant, he was attacked.
"He came up behind me and said, 'do you want to fight?' and I just looked back and gestured no and kept walking, and before I knew it he grabbed my collar and started hitting me," Ellis said. "And that's when all his friends jumped on top of me. They started kicking my head. By then we were on the ground and they started kicking my head. I lost sight in this eye, apparently blood had gotten in this eye. I just felt these hits to my head, my friend said they were kicking me, all five of them."
And Ellis is convinced he was attacked because he's Jewish, saying the attackers didn't ask for money.
There is fear in Brooklyn's Orthodox community following the attacks.
"I made sure to buy a bottle of mace," resident Levi Backman said. "I will hold it, conceal it, hopefully never have to use it."
The Anti-Defamation League is also helping by offering a $5,000 reward to find the person or people responsible for both crimes.
Late Monday afternoon a rally was held near the scene, with community leaders and city officials promising action.
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