Those that marched with Betar, a Zionist youth group, got more than they bargained for when they traveled to New York City to participate in the 40th annual Israel Day Parade.
The young members of Betar had just disembarked from their bus, in Midtown Manhattan, when the Israeli flags they were carrying caught the attention of a street vendor. The man shouted "Sieg Heil-Hiel Hitler" and "Annihilate the Jews" in the direction of the students, while raising his hand in a Nazi salute.
The groups' counselor, Avi Hyman, realized the vendor was about to attack the teens and rushed forward to intervene. The vendor grabbed one of his wares – a glass cube with a depiction of the Statue of Liberty inside – and smashed it over Hyman’s head.
Hyman began to bleed profusely and panic broke out. Eighteen-year-old Michael Warn, who had gone to search for a kosher restaurant, told the Cleveland Jewish News, "I rushed back and saw Avi on the sidewalk. He looked like something out of a horror movie; there was blood everywhere."
The attack occurred just outside an electronics store run by an Israeli, who ran out and corralled the teens and Hyman, still bleeding, into his store.
"Almost immediately, the New York police were on the scene and, despite the false story given by the vendor, they figured out what was going on and arrested him," says Eitan Behar, the Cleveland Betar ‘shaliach’ (emissary).
Hyman, who lives in Maale Shlomo – a hilltop near the Binyamin community of Kochav HaShachar – was visiting New York for two weeks. He was admitted to a nearby hospital where he stayed for an hour-and-a-half, receiving 15 stitches in the side of his head. "They wanted to keep me longer," Hyman told Israel National News, "but nothing was going to keep me from marching with Betar down Fifth Avenue."
Hyman was surprisingly positive about the incident. “It gave the Cleveland teens an opportunity to see anti-Semitism firsthand,” said Hyman. "They now realize what we are up against in the world today. It also showed the importance of fighting back and standing up for ourselves."
Hyman sees an ironic twist in the day’s events. "I made aliyah (immigration to Israel) from my home in London five years ago and now live on a hillside settlement in the Shomron (Samaria). I never got a scratch there. I come to New York for a couple days, though, and an Arabs clobbered me in the head with the Statue of Liberty - an icon that welcomed scores of Jews to American shores."
Overall, Hyman has positive memories from the day. "When I rejoined the parade, the kids hugged me and thanked me for continuing on. I told them to keep on marching; we weren't going to let an anti-Semite ruin our day.”
“I am not surprised that it was not reported by the mainstream press in the days following the parade,” Hyman concluded. “Although the younger generation of American Jewry sees clearly that the Aliyah revolution is underway – the American Jewish establishment refuses to talk about anything that may increase the flow of American Jews back home – to Israel.”
The young members of Betar had just disembarked from their bus, in Midtown Manhattan, when the Israeli flags they were carrying caught the attention of a street vendor. The man shouted "Sieg Heil-Hiel Hitler" and "Annihilate the Jews" in the direction of the students, while raising his hand in a Nazi salute.
The groups' counselor, Avi Hyman, realized the vendor was about to attack the teens and rushed forward to intervene. The vendor grabbed one of his wares – a glass cube with a depiction of the Statue of Liberty inside – and smashed it over Hyman’s head.
Hyman began to bleed profusely and panic broke out. Eighteen-year-old Michael Warn, who had gone to search for a kosher restaurant, told the Cleveland Jewish News, "I rushed back and saw Avi on the sidewalk. He looked like something out of a horror movie; there was blood everywhere."
The attack occurred just outside an electronics store run by an Israeli, who ran out and corralled the teens and Hyman, still bleeding, into his store.
"Almost immediately, the New York police were on the scene and, despite the false story given by the vendor, they figured out what was going on and arrested him," says Eitan Behar, the Cleveland Betar ‘shaliach’ (emissary).
Hyman, who lives in Maale Shlomo – a hilltop near the Binyamin community of Kochav HaShachar – was visiting New York for two weeks. He was admitted to a nearby hospital where he stayed for an hour-and-a-half, receiving 15 stitches in the side of his head. "They wanted to keep me longer," Hyman told Israel National News, "but nothing was going to keep me from marching with Betar down Fifth Avenue."
Hyman was surprisingly positive about the incident. “It gave the Cleveland teens an opportunity to see anti-Semitism firsthand,” said Hyman. "They now realize what we are up against in the world today. It also showed the importance of fighting back and standing up for ourselves."
Hyman sees an ironic twist in the day’s events. "I made aliyah (immigration to Israel) from my home in London five years ago and now live on a hillside settlement in the Shomron (Samaria). I never got a scratch there. I come to New York for a couple days, though, and an Arabs clobbered me in the head with the Statue of Liberty - an icon that welcomed scores of Jews to American shores."
Overall, Hyman has positive memories from the day. "When I rejoined the parade, the kids hugged me and thanked me for continuing on. I told them to keep on marching; we weren't going to let an anti-Semite ruin our day.”
“I am not surprised that it was not reported by the mainstream press in the days following the parade,” Hyman concluded. “Although the younger generation of American Jewry sees clearly that the Aliyah revolution is underway – the American Jewish establishment refuses to talk about anything that may increase the flow of American Jews back home – to Israel.”