Brooklyn, NY – Two boys were arrested on Thursday, November 8. The boys went on a spree committing seven hate crimes within a few hours on Saturday, November 3. One of the crimes was throwing a pipe which broke a window at Volkan Shul on Franklin Avenue in Williamsburg. This was after harassing a Hassidic boy on the street among other criminal anti-Semitic actions.
Assemblyman Joe Lentol and Councilman Stephen Levin participated in the subsequent meeting which took place at the UJO with the CO of the 79th Precinct, after this criminal event. The meeting also included Shomrim and concerned residents at the area. Attendees were shown videos of what had actually taken place at the crime scene which led to a better understanding of the severity and malicious intent of the attacks. Based on the evidence presented at the meeting, the juveniles were deservedly charged with hate crimes.
”I thank Inspector Minch of the79th Precinct for arresting and bringing the perpetrators to justice We hope this will send a lesson that acts of hate will not be tolerated in our neighborhoods,” says Rabbi David Niederman, Executive Director and President of UJO. “I also want to express my thanks to Shomrim and the askanim who diligently collected evidence and made sure that everything was reported to the police in order to have those responsible arrested and charged accordingly. Also, thanks are due to Assemblyman Lentol and Councilman Levin for standing with us to make sure these criminal acts were charged as hate crimes.
“It is very important,” Rabbi Niederman stresses, “that any community member who has the misfortune of experiencing any similar occurrence should report it to the police in order to stop the profusion of hate crimes in our area. No incidences should be ignored. Even if it seems to be a relatively minor episode, it needs to be reported because if such actions are not stopped in a timely fashion, this can lead to more severe attacks occurring with greater frequency.”
