A brutal assault occurred Tuesday night in New Jersey, as a
hassidic-religious man was attacked by three African-American hoodlums while
walking to the Sanz Yeshiva where he studies.
The attack comes after a relatively quiet month in terms of
the "knockout game" of random violence largely targeting
Hareidi-religious neighborhoods in New York. One 20-year-old was arrested for
assaulting seven men on different occasions, another for assaulting five Jewish
women in separate attacks.
Yechiel Rozenberg, the yeshiva student who lives in Union
City which is across the Hudson River from Manhattan, was attacked by the three
black youth while walking in his neighborhood.
After setting upon Rozenberg and cruelly striking him in the
head until he collapsed, the three then fled the scene. The street was deserted
with no one to help him. Rozenberg managed to drag himself to the yeshiva,
where 'Hatzolah' emergency response volunteers were called to treat him.
Medical volunteers transferred the man to the hospital after
seeing the considerable damage inflicted to his head from the blows, and from
falling to the pavement. At the hospital he was given stitches on his head.
Rozenberg spoke to the hassidic newspaper Hamevaser
afterwards about the attack, saying "it was very cold and apparently for
that reason no one was outside, a fact the attackers took advantage of."
"There is no doubt you can say I was saved through a
true miracle," relayed Rozenberg. "They hit me with great cruelty and
through the mercy of G-d I survived. I required medical treatment and this
morning (Wednesday) I went to the doctor again. Thank G-d, aside from soreness
I escaped through a real miracle."
The shocking attack has caused great concern in the
neighborhood, one that has not been the target of such blatant anti-Semitic
assaults in the past. Police who arrived on the scene checked security cameras
on the street in hopes of tracking down the attackers.
The mayor of Union City, Brian Stack, reportedly called
Rozenberg's home not long after the attack and promised the police would do
everything in their power to capture the assailants, and will redouble their
efforts to prevent a similar attack from reccurring in the neighborhood.
The violent attack came just a day after the International
Holocaust Remembrance Day on Monday.
