The manager of a Jewish bookstore on the Upper West Side of Manhattan was beaten up Monday afternoon by a self-declared Muslim man who threatened to kill him.
Brooklyn native Salmon Salczer, 52, was inside West Side Judaica, when he saw a man pacing outside and peering into the store’s window. When Salczer approached the man to see what he wanted, the suspect punched him in the face repeatedly, while yelling, “F*** you Jews. I’ll kill you; I’m a Muslim,” New York Police Department officials told Jewish politics blog JP Updates.
According to JP Updates, Salczer said he feared the attacker would strike him with a metal razer scooter he was holding. The suspect is believed to have later used the scooter to flee the scene. According to police, he is still on the loose.
Salczer called authorities and filed a police report. Detectives from the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force are now investigating the incident as a hate crime.
Authorities described the suspect as a 5’10” dark-skinned male in his 20s. He was wearing a red jacket and blue jeans at the time of the assault.
In a statement to the press, Councilman Mark Levine, chairman of the NYC Jewish Caucus, said the incident serves as a “stark reminder that no neighborhood in New York City is immune from the mounting threat of antisemitic attacks.” He said Monday’s attack and every other hate crime must be “denounced in the strongest terms.”
NYC Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal said in a statement: “While it is rare for the UWS to experience hate crimes, we must be vigilant at all times. I want to thank our 24th precinct for their rapid response… Antisemitic attacks — or any other hate crime — must be stopped.”
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS or submit their tips at the Crime Stoppers website.
By: The Algemeiner
