A young Jewish man was stabbed in New York by an attacker who was shouting ‘Free Palestine’, media reports said.
The incident reportedly occurred close to Chabad Headquarters in Crown Heights on Saturday.
The perpetrator, reportedly a black male in his early 20s, asked the victim, “Do you want to die?” before stabbing him, reported The Jerusalem Post.
A footage of the incident has gone viral online.
An X user named Yaacov Behrman, whose profile said he is the Public Relations at Chabad, wrote: “I can confirm that a hate crime stabbing occurred early this morning in Crown Heights, around 2 a.m., near Eastern Parkway and Kingston Avenue, close to Chabad Headquarters.”
“This is an extremely serious incident. The victim could have been killed. This act of hateful violence highlights the dangerous impact of anti-Semitic incitement and hate propagated by some local politicians and leaders in New York and across the United States,” he said.
He said the victim was hospitalised and is on his way to recovery.
“I visited the victim in the hospital tonight. He is grateful to be alive and understands that if he had been stabbed just 4 centimeters away, the result would have been very different. He is recovering and will hopefully be released in the next 24 to 48 hours,” he posted on X later informing the health condition of the victim.
The incident is being investigated by the NYPD’s Hate Crimes unit, reported Yeshiva World News.
The incident occurred at a time when Israel is engaged in nearly a year-long battle against Gaza following the attack by Hamas members on October 7 last year.
The cross-border attack on Israel killed at least 1,200 people, while 251 were abducted.
