Woman punched in the face by attacker who said he did it because she was Jewish

The NYPD is investigating the incident as a hate crime

The NYPD distributed this image of a man wanted in connection with an incident in which a woman was punched. She told police that when she asked her assailant why he’d hit her, he said, “You are Jewish.” Courtesy of NYPD

By Beth Harpaz October 19, 2023

A man punched a woman in the face in a New York City subway station, then told her he did it because “you are Jewish,” police said.

The assailant made the statement after she asked him why he hit her, according to the New York Police Department.

The incident took place Saturday at 11:30 p.m. inside the passageway leading to the No. 7 train at the Grand Central subway station at 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue.

The victim, 29, who police said had done nothing to provoke the random attack, suffered minor injuries.

The NYPD Hate Crimes Unit is investigating.

The incident took place a week after the Oct. 7 massacres in Israel by Hamas, followed by Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.

Other hate crimes that have taken place around the world against the backdrop of continuing violence in the Middle East include the destruction of a historic synagogue in Tunisia by a rioting mob and the murder of a Palestinian child outside Chicago, allegedly by his landlord, who was said to be set off by fears about a “Day of Jihad.”

Beth Harpaz worked at the Forward as a reporter and now manages the Bintel Brief advice column. She previously covered politics and breaking news for The Associated Press. Email: harpaz@forward.com.

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