A group of Orthodox Jewish men and boys numbering in the hundreds chased, kicked, spit on and threw objects at a woman after mistaking her for a pro-Palestinian protester during an event at Chabad-Lubavitch’s global headquarters, located in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood. The event, which took place Thursday, April 24, attracted advocates of both the Israeli and Palestinian causes and centered around an appearance by Israel’s controversial security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The event led to a clash between pro-Palestinian protesters and Hasidic Jews, resulting in six arrests. Protesters allegedly threw bottles at Ben-Gvir as he left the event.
The woman spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, fearing for her safety.
According to the AP, the woman, who is in her 30s and a resident of Crown Heights –– a Brooklyn neighborhood known for its large Orthodox Jewish population –– walked over to the protest around 10:30 p.m., after she heard helicopters circling above her building.
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How did the events unfold?
Not intending to participate, but also not wanting to be filmed after pro-Israel protesters began pointing their cameras at her, the woman says she covered her face with a scarf. That’s when a group of men that the woman estimates to have been around 100 “immediately” approached and “encircled” her.
“They were shouting at me, threatening to rape me, chanting ‘death to Arabs,’” the woman said. “I thought the police would protect me from the mob, but they did nothing to intervene.”
Her story is corroborated through video footage captured by someone on the scene and posted to Instagram.
While the police idly stood by, one officer did try to escort the woman to safety. However, that wasn’t enough to stop the violence, growing mob, or insults in both Hebrew and English that lasted for blocks.
“This is America,” one man says. “We got Israel. We got an Army now.”
In the video, two men can be seen kicking the woman in the back. Another throws a traffic cone into her head, and someone else pushes a trash can into her.
“I felt sheer terror,” the woman told the AP. “I realized at that point that I couldn’t lead this mob of men to my home. I had nowhere to go. I didn’t know what to do. I was just terrified.”
The officer escorting the woman eventually got her into a police vehicle, the crowd cheering as she’s driven off.
“I’m afraid to move around the neighborhood where I’ve lived for a decade,” the woman, who is a lifelong New Yorker, told the AP. “It doesn’t seem like anyone in any position of power really cares.”
Mayor Adams, Chabad-Lubavitch respond
On Sunday, April 27, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said police are investigating “a series of incidents stemming from clashing protests” at Chabad-Lubavitch’s Ben-Gvir event. That includes a different pro-Palestinian protester who was allegedly harassed by counterprotesters. Photos shared online show her with blood streaming down her face, according to the AP.
“Let me be clear: None of this is acceptable, in fact, it is despicable,” Adams said. “New York City will always be a place where people can peacefully protest, but we will not tolerate violence, trespassing, menacing, or threatening.”
Similarly, Chabad-Lubavitch denounced the group’s behavior, with spokesman Rabbi Motti Seligson saying, “We condemn the crude language and violence of the small breakaway group of young people; such actions are entirely unacceptable and wholly antithetical to the Torah’s values. The fact that a possibly uninvolved bystander got pulled into the melee further underscores the point.”
