Photo: Edward Kimmel via Flickr
Dec. 7, 2018 By Meghan Sackman
Two teenage males have been arrested for allegedly assaulting a 16-year-old Jewish student in Forest Hills last week.
The teens, ages 17 and 18, were arrested Thursday at around 11 a.m. and charged with assault and gang assault. They were not charged with a hate crime.
The victim, a student from Midrash L’man Achai, a local Yeshiva, was attacked on Nov. 29 at 4:53 p.m. by a group of teenagers at 108th St. and 65th Rd, according to police.
He suffered lip lacerations, contusions and severe bruising to the body, police said. He has a been recovering in Elmhurst Hospital since.
According to Yaniv Meirov, CEO of the local Jewish organization Chazaq, the victim was leaving a Kosher eatery when he was allegedly attacked by a group of 20 to 30 teenage boys. Meirov also alleges that the teens were chanting, “Kill the Jews” during the incident.
Members of local Jewish organizations were grateful to Waleska Mendez, a volunteer at Masbia soup kitchen, who witnessed the crime and came after the attackers with a broom–causing them to back off shortly after.
Local Jewish groups label this as a hate crime, putting them at odds with police. They also argue that attacks on Jews in the neighborhood are becoming more prevalent.
According to the Queens District Attorney, the pair will be arraigned later today.
