NEW YORK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st May, 2021) The New York Police Hate Crime Task Force said on Friday that it was investigating an assault of a Jewish man by a group of protesters in Times Square.
"The Hate Crime Task Force is investigating a gang assault of a Jewish man in Times Square," the task force said via Twitter.
The investigation was directed by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo who decried the assault on a visibly Jewish man who was beaten up amid protests in midtown Manhattan.
"I unequivocally condemn these brutal attacks on visibly Jewish New Yorkers and we will not tolerate anti-Semitic violent gang harassment and intimidation," Cuomo said in a statement.
The New York police said it arrested 23-year-old Waseem Awawdeh, who used a crutch to assault the Jewish man. Awawdeh has been charged with hate crime assault, gang assault, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon, the police said.
The police said another incident during the same demonstration, involving a woman who was injured when professional grade fireworks were thrown toward bystanders, is also being investigated.
New York City held several protests over the past week in relation to the Israeli-Palestinian armed escalation.
Last week, a Sputnik correspondent reported clashes among pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian demonstrators attending a rally in front of the Consulate General of Israel in New York.
