On Saturday night, a group of Jews walking down Central Park West in New York City were followed by a car and pelted with eggs.
The victims were visibly Jewish. The women were dressed in Shabbat clothes and the men had on kippahs, reported website I Love The Upper West Side.
The incident took place in the Upper West Side neighbourhood of Manhattan.
The woman who gave an interview to the website said that one of the eggs hit her in the head causing a concussion.
“It was just so clear and obvious as to why we were targeted. There were so many people around us, and they only targeted us. A doorman who saw what happened said that they were behind us and sought us out. So in my eyes, it’s clear,” she said.
She immediately called the police but they refused to take a report unless she called an ambulance. She was in shock and instead went home. She later began to feel unwell and went to the hospital where she was diagnosed with a concussion.
At that point, she called police who opened an assault investigation.
“I understand how other people might not think that this could have been a hate crime, but in my head it’s just so beyond obvious and I feel like so many other people just don’t get it,” she said.
Other Jews living in the Upper West Side have reportedly experienced similar assaults and threats but are afraid to speak out publicly.
“I think it’s so important to speak out, because this time it was an egg, but if we don’t stop these people, what’s going to be next?” she said. “I don’t want to put someone else in danger. I feel like this was just simply a stepping stone to a bigger potential crime.”
In the last few months, New York City has experienced a surge in anti-Semitic attacks, including a May incident where a Jewish man was punched, kicked, pepper-sprayed and beaten with his crutches.