NEW YORK — While people of the Jewish faith are celebrating Hanukkah, police are fighting against a pattern of anti-Semitic hate crimes across New York City.
The most recent spate of incidents began last week in Flatbush, a neighborhood in Brooklyn. Several Jewish children were seen being chased through the streets.
On Monday, two small children — brothers ages 6 and 7— were punched in an elevator at the Independence House apartments in Manhattan.
Two different events occurred Tuesday in Crown Heights, another Brooklyn neighborhood. A 25-year-old victim on Kingston Avenue was disparaged for his Jewish faith and had a drink thrown on him. Later in the day around 5 p.m., a 56-year-old man was walking on Union Street when a group of men ambushed and hit him on the back of the head.
The Anti-Defamation League announced Thursday that it is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual or individuals responsible for the second attack.
The latest incident happened Wednesday morning in Borough Park in Brooklyn, where a Jewish man was punched in an unprovoked attack near 13th Avenue and 48th Street around 1 a.m. No words were exchanged before he was smacked out of nowhere.
Local officials have asked the NYPD's hate crimes task force to look into the trend. This all follows a recent deadly attack on a Jewish market in nearby Jersey City. Mayor Bill de Blasio has spoken out repeatedly against these acts of violence, calling them an affront to all New Yorkers.
This story was originally published by Anthony DiLorenzo on WPIX.