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Orthodox Jewish Man Assaulted in Brooklyn

Reportedly called ‘dirty bloody Jew’ during daytime subway platform attack

by
Stephanie Butnick
November 19, 2014
Marcy Avenue subway station in Brooklyn, N.Y. (The All-Nite Images/Flickr)
Marcy Avenue subway station in Brooklyn, N.Y. (The All-Nite Images/Flickr)

An Orthodox Jewish man was attacked Monday afternoon while waiting for the subway in the Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn, and the perpetrators reportedly hurled anti-Semitic epithets at him during the assault. Haim Ovanounou, 53, told police he was standing at the Marcy Avenue station platform when the incident occurred. He turned around to discover a man attempting to pickpocket him who, according to the New York Post, then “called him a “dirty bloody Jew” and spat in his face, police said.”

The attacker then grabbed Ovanounou’s umbrella and hit him in the head before running off.



The victim tried to chase the brute, but was quickly pounced on by two other attackers, who knocked him down and began kicking him repeatedly while shouting taunts like “f–king dirty Jew.”

It’s a disturbing incident, all the more so because it took place just before 4 p.m. An onlooker who tried to help was beaten as well, and the suspects boarded an approaching train and fled. We’ll update this post as we learn more.

Stephanie Butnick is chief strategy officer of Tablet Magazine, co-founder of Tablet Studios, and a host of the Unorthodox podcast.