Man on Crutches Brutally Attacked by Pro-Palestinian Demonstrator for Waving Israeli Flag
The victim said he just wanted to peacefully show that "not everyone will be silent about how hateful" many pro-Palestinian, anti-Zionist activists are.
NEW YORK CITY - Around 6:15 on Wednesday evening, a young man on crutches was chased down and beaten by a Palestinian demonstrator merely for holding an Israeli flag at a pro-Palestinian rally being held in front of the Israeli consulate in New York City. An elderly woman was also forcibly pushed away while attempting to stop the assault.
As reported by The Jerusalem Post on Monday, ‘A rally to support “Palestinian resistance” [was] set to be held by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement NGOs at the Israeli consulate in New York City on Wednesday.’
According to the man carrying the Israeli flag, he was at the rally for about 15 minutes before deciding to leave. Three men holding Palestinian flags followed him for roughly 2 blocks until one of them, the perpetrator, began attacking the man. He beat the man for a minute or two before the perpetrator’s friends managed to pull him away; he then ran back to the rally with the Israeli flag he stole.
—» Watch the video here.
An ambulance arrived at the scene shortly after the attack, followed by several police officers. The man on crutches and the elderly woman were immediately taken inside the ambulance. Police interviewed the witnesses and victims, piecing together the story and attempting to identify the perpetrator.
Witness descriptions and video footage corroborate the fact that, upon returning to the Israeli consulate, the attacker and his fellow demonstrators burned the stolen Israeli flag. They subsequently stomped and danced on the flag as they celebrated and boasted about the assault.
The aforementioned rally held on Wednesday occurred in the midst of ongoing clashes between Arab rioters and police on the Temple Mount in Israel.
As explained in The Jerusalem Post:
The tension has been compounded as Passover and Ramadan, which are concurrent this year, are often periods of increased Palestinian terrorist activity.
A NYC detective is in touch with witnesses in order to follow-up with them about the incident. He intends to search for and apprehend the suspect for harassment and hate crime.
On a follow-up phone interview, the victim on crutches said he has a minor concussion. He visited a hospital that night and the next day. He and the elderly woman are expected to recover from the incident, however.
If he could speak to his attacker, the 28-year-old victim said he would tell him that “the State of Israel is not going anywhere, and your hate and violence undermines the cause that you seem so passionate about.”