A Brooklyn woman accused of leading a group of toughs who assaulted and hurled ethnic slurs at a Jewish couple aboard the Q train pleaded guilty yesterday and agreed to attend a 15-month jail-alternative program.
“We were all drinking alcohol aboard the train and the victim said something about Hanukkah and about Christmas and it escalated from there,” Kimberly Babajko said in court, copping to third-degree assault as a hate crime and harassment.
“It was religiously motivated . . . I hit the victim because she was Jewish.”
If Babajko finishes the program at Common Justice, an alternative-to-jail program, prosecutors will dismiss the assault.
Other participants in the assault have accepted pleas in return for no jail except Joseph Jirovec, who was on probation at the time of the Dec. 7, 2007, incident. His case is still pending.
A good Samaritan, Hassan Askari — a Muslim — was injured when he interceded to defend the Jewish victims.
(Source: NY Post / YWN-782)
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6 Responses
how odd, a muslim stood up to defennd a jew? how ironic? definitely not derech hateva!!!
fascinating.
I thought so also when it was first reported, but NY is an odd place and odd things happen. B’derech tevah it shouldn’t have, but I guess there are some muslims who don’t hate. In NY most people are more laid back about differences.
This Muslim fellow is not an Arab which may help explain why he helped. Non-Arab Muslims seem to be much less hostile to Jews.
absurd. a violent racial hate crime with no jail time? Perhaps the judge is anti semitic too?
I believe that community service is more punishment than jail time. Jail time is a burden and a cost to taxpayers. Community service WITH NO PAY is a good way of paying for the crime.