Hassidic family in Williamsburg Image by Getty Images

Three Jewish men were punched in the face in Brooklyn on Monday in what may have been attempted robberies, New York Post reported.

There were three separate but similar attacks. The first was in the Williamsburg neighborhood around 5 a.m.; three men pushed a 71-year-old man to the ground to dig through his pockets. The victim was punched in the face, according to the New York Police Department.

Antisemitism Notebook

Your weekly guide through the news and the noise of how rising antisemitism and disputes over how to address it are shaping American Jewish life.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The other two incidents happened a few blocks away about 30 minutes later to a 56- and 67-year-old man. Three men demanded money, looked in the victims’ pockets and punched them in the face. Ultimately nothing was stolen in the attacks.

Williamsburg has a large Orthodox Jewish population, and the neighborhood and others with large Jewish populations have seen large increases in attacks on people wearing visibly Jewish garb.

Alyssa Fisher is a writer at the Forward. Email her at fisher@forward.com, or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount