Jewish Teens in New York Assaulted by Group Demanding They Yell 'Kill All the Jews'

Two Jewish teens in Brooklyn, New York, were surrounded Saturday night by a mob of people who assaulted them after they refused to yell hate-filled and antisemitic phrases including "kill all the Jews," police said.

New York City Police Department (NYPD) spokespeople confirmed Sunday that a 17- and 18-year-old pair of victims were assaulted on Ocean Avenue near Albemarle Road late Saturday, in between the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Midwood and Borough Park.

Several local lawmakers in the Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish communities relayed the victims' statements in which they described the attackers demanding them to chant phrases such as "free Palestine" before the assault. Former New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind tweeted that the two teens were "saved by a Muslim Uber driver who drove them to safety" after coming upon the scene of the attack.

The victims told police that a group of men exited a Toyota Camry near Ocean Parkway and 18th Avenue around 7:30 p.m. Saturday before the antisemitic assault.

Police said video surveillance showed a group of male suspects exiting a similar vehicle on 16th Avenue and 49th Street in the middle of Borough Park before directing antisemitic slurs toward several Jewish pedestrians. One of the suspects spit at numerous Jewish passersby and another punched out a car mirror.

Police said the suspects demanded that the two Jewish teens chant out various antisemitic phrases or face physical violence. After refusing, the teens were allegedly punched in the head and face numerous times, and one of the suspects put the 17-year-old victim in a chokehold.

The Sunday incident is the latest in a series of anti-Jewish attacks across New York City over the past week. On Thursday, Joseph Borgen, a Jewish man, said he was on his way to a pro-Israel rally near 47th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan when he was brutally assaulted by a group of men. One suspect linked to that incident is in custody.

Recent incidents have broken out across the country just days after Israeli and Palestinian leaders called for a ceasefire to end 11 days of violence.

Borough Park and Midwood Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein described the Sunday incident via tweet: "Earlier today Orthodox Jews were harassed in front of this Shul on 16th Avenue by a group of males yelling 'Free Palestine - kill all the Jews.' We are hearing of multiple similar incidents that occurred over Shabbos. These perpetrators must be brought to justice."

New York City Councilman Kalman Yeger appeared to reference the international context of the alleged assault, tweeting Saturday: "I'm sure the thoughts and prayers of the antisemitic politicians who caused this will be shortly forthcoming."