Five Jewish teenagers have been charged with hate crimes for attacking a Pakistani-American man with brass knuckles in the Midwood section of Brooklyn and calling him a “terrorist,” officials said.
Shahid Amber, 24, said in an interview last night he was eating ice cream near a Dunkin’ Donuts at the corner of East 15th Street and Avenue M, when he was approached by a group of five teenagers at about 8:15 p.m. on October 29. They knocked the ice cream from his hands, called him a “terrorist” and told him: “Go back to your country,” he said.
The teenagers held his arms behind his back and began beating him with a pair of brass knuckles, breaking his nose and leaving his torso covered in bruises, he said. Doctors told him he would need surgery to correct the damage done to his face.
Police arrested the five teenagers soon after the attack. Three were identified as #### ######, 17, ####### #####, 16, and ##### #####, 16. Two 15-year-olds that were arrested were not identified because of their age. They all lived in the vicinity of the street corner where the attack happened.
The alleged perpetrators were charged by the Brooklyn district attorney with a number of crimes, including assault in the first degree, assault in the second and third degree as hate crimes, gang assault in the first degree, and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, a spokesman said. For the most serious charge, assault in the first degree, they face between eight and a third and 20 years in prison, the spokesman said.
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22 Responses
What is happening in our kehilos that our children could do something like this? These are not teenagers at risk, these are children who have far passed that threshhold. What can we do about this? Are we not raising are children properly? I think we don’t love them enough, or we don’t show them enough love. For starters, anyway. After that, Derech Eretz and basic decent midos must be SHOWN (that is, we parents must live an act properly), and hen we can teach the children. But of course, gross generalizations are easy to make.
What an unbelievable chilul hashem!
the previous bloggers are no better than the antisemetic media when they jump to conclusions and blast our community and our precious children. If you research the story you will see that these boys are the ones that called the police and reported it after being attacked and responding in self defense. Dov Hikind smartly pointed out ““Some of the kids involved in this were the ones that called the police. When was the last time you had a bias incident when those who were there stuck around and waited for police to come?�? You guys should be ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES!!
I couldn’t disagree with you more. If the roles were reversed we wouldn’t be giving the Muslim attackers the benefit of the doubt. These kids were “at risk” kids and they weren’t being supervised and they over reacted BIGTIME. Maybe ONE of the kids did in fact call the police when he saw it got out of hand, but when 5 kids beat up one person to the point where he needs facial reconstruction surgery, that’s not called self defense. There were witnessed who heard the anti-Islamic comments. Instead of blindly defending these kids you should be using your platform to make it clear that violence is never acceptable, especially not from people in the religious community.
Let me tell you unfortunately i know personally of “yeshiva bachurim” similar in age actually a couple of years older who participated in beating someone, not even a goy a fellow jew! I think there is a serious problem with the youth today, we cannot obviously generalize but i think someof these kids who act and dress frum from certain yeshiva’s have to be closely monitored. Especially when these kids go to israel they go wild and become worse then the secular gangs. I have proof of everything i am saying.
It is important to remember that the non-Torah media do not hesitate to lie, distort, exaggerate, and substitute opinion for fact. We cannot ever take anything they say at face value. The reports about this “hate crime” came from the non-Torah media. Torah Yidden must be careful how we rush to believing anything and basing any judgments on such beliefs.
I think that this should not be shocking to people who live in a community as bigoted and racist as the Jewish shtetl of Brooklyn NY. Us frum jews would do well to keep in mind that just a few short years ago, we where hated outsider and we where routinely attacked. Thanks to G-d’s help, we where able to rise up and organize and protect ourselves through political advocacy. The pakistani people came to this country to try and do the same thing. We should be supporting them, instead of beating them.
Our kids see the way we feel about others – whether the others are jews not like us or whether the others are from other religions and races. They see the way that our schools feel about these people, with Rabbis who tell young children stories aimed at showing how stupid and terrible goyim are.
If you dehumanize another race enough, they are fair game for all sorts of abuse. The african slave trade and the holocaust where only possible because there where groups that openly claimed that the targeted ethnic class was less human. The Torah forbids this kind of behavior.
We as a community need to teach our kids that although G-d did select us, and we are special, everybody is a tzellem elokhim. Every human being (and to some degree animals) deserves to be protected from abuse and hate. BIGOTRY IS NOT THE JEWISH WAY, although from living in the Brooklyn ghetto you would never know that.
Violence is not such a far cry from the typical hate that our kids witness in our own homes, whether its through discussion or otherwise. Teach your kids not to hate people that are not like them and that others are human also. THIS IS OUR FAULT AS A COMMUNITY. The answer is not to marginalize the kids and say “they are at risk”. The “at risk” movement was a helpful way for parents to isolate themselves from all the problems that are rampant in our community. THESE ARE AND CAN BE THE KIDS OF EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US.
Chill there-I think every1 should get the double sided story straight b4 jumping 2 any conclusions-Don’t judge anybody until you know what to judge about.Let the complete story unfold first.
WE as Yidden must stand united. Every goy hates us and we are not safe anywhere. If we don’t love ourselves….who will????? Daven for the five heliga neshamos and that this should not be blown out of proportion.
These kids at risk are a problem to be sure (and as is often the case there will soon be a big change in the actual details of the crime committed), but why is this a hate crime, whereas a bunch of lowlifes attacking a Jewish kid in Crown Heights and screaming racial slurs get off scot-free and are allowed to return home to their parents?
If this goy attacked the yidden, they could have restrained him until the police came. I don’t think one goy attacked 5 yidden, though. I think they were just out to get a muslim. In that case they were very wrong, unfortunately, and now we must all suffer the consequences. I say we, because it is a chillul Hashem and where Chillul Hashem is involved we all are involved. And, unfortunately, these youngsters are going to have a painful experience of possible jail time, a trial etc., just for a few minutes of indiscretion and very bad judgement.
Quote: “WE as Yidden must stand united. Every goy hates us and we are not safe anywhere. If we don’t love ourselves….who will????? Daven for the five heliga neshamos and that this should not be blown out of proportion.”
varvos, how can you state such a thing?! I assume I am a “goy” because I am of a different religion – but I do not hate the chosen people!! Again, these blanket statements are completely cruel and untrue. You are my brother, whether you want to be or not – I am your sister. We have both been created by Abba – If we continue to spread such lies, what will it accomplish? more hatred perhaps…
While standing in line at our post office, I was with a dear friend, who happens to be african american – there was a woman with her two small children standing in line in front of us – they were Jewish. The two small children looked at my friend and started pointing saying, “nigger, nigger” – we almost dropped dead! This is something that is taught. We did not blame the little ones for their words, but we did blame the parents. She didn’t say anything, but I surely wanted to! This is not the first time we have heard such comments from young Jewish children riding on buses going home, etc. But personally, I have NEVER said such things to ANYONE! So to hear it said to me is very upsetting, to say the least.
We may not know the details of this crime; but it doesn’t sound good either. Hatred in any form is horrific – and reverse hatred is just as bad. Let those who hate stand alone – let us not join them and create our own line of hatred.
When we walk in our daily lives, when we speak with our little ones, when we communicate with our local merchants, when we pay our financial obligations, let us always remember to try and walk the way that would be most pleasing to G-d. Let us try to please G-d in all our actions. If you do something that you feel might displease G-d, chances are it will, and you shouldn’t do it. Our children need to remember this as well. We are all accountable for our actions; bad, good, or indifferent. Let us be an example to our children – they learn from what we do and what we say. Just because someone is different than you, does not mean they are less than you; does not mean they are less intelligent than you; does not mean they don’t love like you love; or work hard like you work hard. Generalities are sometimes very cruel. Let us be wise as Solomon.
Of course, I’m just a “goy” what do I know, right?
humble
Maybe this ought to be a discussion elsewhere, but the question remains- Why do we have so many Kids at Risk?
My opinion is that we all cause it by our treatment of kids that don’t fall into the average or above category . We give them negative vibes about themselves. ONCE THAT’S DONE, ITS VERY DIFFICULT OR IMPOSSIBLE TO MODIFY.
Not to Chas V’Shalom compare anyone in Chinuch or other Frum people to Germans- but we reject and ostracize kids that we view as not fitting a certain mold and thus cause irreparable scars (don’t be friends with…. etc.). Whether we think it or say it, we often do that to adults to (I’m better than you….) and it comes through. Frum Yiden are way too unforgiving and demanding. We can aim to be a “perfect fit in a mold” ourselves, but we have to be civil, accepting and forgiving with others. It’s our judgMENTALism that’s causing many big Tzoros. Y’hi Chavercho Chaviv Alecho K’Shelach- that doesn’t only pertain to your buddies or your type of people.
Humble, I am sorry that there are still such closed minded morons amongst the Jewish and religious community. This type of violence does not come from a Jewish place, it comes from a palce of bad parenting, lazy community leaders and denial amonsgt many religious school teachers and adminstators.
From one religious chassdic Jew to you I promise you this is not how we are supposed to act.
icht hut gemaint as der blog is far yidden. oib ich hut gervust as a goy kick oif der blog??? Hashen yerachem. Throw the internet in the trash!
What you say, humble, is 100% correct.
Just because someone is different, does not mean we should not love them. All that we can do is try and teach by example. please don’t take a few isolated examples (the 5 teens or the kids in front of you in the post office), as a representation of the entire community.
Even comments on this site, should be taken with a grain of salt.
One of the great Rabbi’s of the last century, rabbi Yakov Kominetzky, would go out of his way to be engaging and great a group of Nuns each morning. We as a nation do not hate other people of other religions. To say otherwise is a lie.
I find it impossible to believe this story as it is written.
Malkyt is right to be doubtful. I was told that one prominent (?) radio station reported the event based on what was clearly incorrect and could not have been more than hearsay. For reasons that I feel are valid, I do not want to be more specific. Hearsay is not fact. Again the point I made on erev Shabbos: The non-Torah media are primarily interested in sensationalism rather than accurate reporting. They are replete with distortions, errors of omission, and outright falsities. Only when they get caught in a major lie do they apologize or back down. There are numerous incidents of this nature. The non-Torah media do not follow the rules of sefer Chofetz Chaim. Whatever they report must be taken with a large measure of skepticism.
Humble Angel,
The slur you wrote of is not a term that Orthodox children have ever heard of. I have never, ever, heard any Jewish person use that terrible slur. If this story indeed happened, it is an incredible abberation from the norm. My heart goes out to the woman you were with, and I wish her only pleasant experiences in the future.
And Reb Chaim Rubin, to write ” palce of bad parenting, lazy community leaders and denial amonsgt many religious school teachers and adminstators” is sheer libel and horrifying lashon hara- I don’t say motzei shem rah, because your words are patently false, in addition to being nauseating.
Most of us are on a journey of improvement, and work on our parenting, school chinuch, and other issues with great commitment. As we are not angels, sometimes we fail. But you?! You condemn, with such a broad and blind stroke, “lazy community leaders”, “denial amongst…”- do you always talk with such a lack of nuance? Or is the soap box too tempting to spend some time on a thoughtful, intelligent, and measured response?
Unless, of course, the community you are in evidences bad parenting, lazy community leaders, and teachers and administrators in denial, and that’s all you are familiar with. If indeed this is your experience, I would hope that you would find a new and more suitable community quickly, for the spiritual health of your family…
Remember that passing judgement before you have the facts and that means all of them is forbidden. Secondly, the abstract concept of ayin roah v’ozen shoma’as gains a clear and concrete dimension in a forum such as this. Keep your harmful opinions in your belly because our history has taught us that it does not take much to fan the flames of Eisav and his affective reaction to Yaakov!
Before you say anything try to find out the real truth….
The real truth and i know it because i know personally some of these boys and acually the boys that were arrested were the boys who were the first to call the police wich it took them 25 minutes to come. and the reason that they called the police was beacuse that pakistanian guy had punched one of thier 15 year old friend . And if these kids did such a bad bias crime why would they stick around waiting for the polic to come, also these were not Yeshivaish boys with hats and jackets like they claim in the newspapers and defenetly thier were no racial slers this was not a hate crime , but an unfortunate incidient a fight between an angry guy who happens to be a muslem and some teens who happen to be jewish.
I feel the muslem community is taking advantage of this situation . making a big deal out of it . throwing lies just to justify thier own actions and to show that they suffer because of jews. Meanwhile we will and these kids who were foolish enough to hang out in the wrong place and the wrong time . will suffer for it.
I think that we as jews all the community should help these kids because they are inosent of any hate crime.
There are some items in this story that no one seems to deny: namely there was one person seriously injured and five others some way involved in the beating he got, even if only as bystanders who did nothing to help him. That reading is the non-Torah media. Forget for a moment the issue of ‘hate crime’ or not, just focus on the fact that five of our children were involved in a vicious assault. How can anyone justify that?