Manhattan police were still searching Saturday for a suspect who allegedly yelled “numerous” anti-Semitic statements while attacking a 63-year-old man in Central Park, authorities said.
Police said that at one point, the attacker yelled, “Kanye 2024,” a reference to the notorious anti-Semitic rapper’s planned run for the US presidency in 2024.
Kanye West, now known as Ye, recently dined with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago and proclaimed on a podcast earlier this month that he “likes” Hitler and “loves” the Nazis. His Twitter account was banned, again, earlier this month when he posted an image of the Star of David intertwined with a swastika.
The assault victim was walking in the park early Wednesday morning when the attacker struck him from behind, according to a statement from the New York Police Department (NYPD).
The man fell to the ground and suffered a broken hand and a chipped tooth, according to police. He was hospitalized in stable condition.
Images of the suspect were captured on surveillance video. He appeared to be in his 40s and fled on a bicycle, according to the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force. He attached a small cart to the bike with a sign that read “Hungry Handicapped,” police said.
A 63-year-old victim suffered lacerations and a chipped tooth after being assaulted by this perpetrator inside Central Park. Numerous anti-Jewish statements were made prior to the assault. The perpetrator has been tracked as far south as Washington Square Park, after the incident. pic.twitter.com/2CSbzibm4A
The New York/New Jersey branch of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) was “appalled” by the anti-Semitic attack, said Scott Richman, ADL’s regional director.
“Crimes like these have a ripple effect on communities, causing unique trauma in addition to physical harm,” the ADL said in a tweet.
The attack demonstrates how Ye’s anti-Semitic rhetoric has perpetuated violence and incited others to act, Richman told CNN. “When public figures with big platforms fan the flames of anti-Semitism, people will copy it and start thinking it’s normal,” he said.
Appalled by this reported anti-Semitic assault of a 63-year-old man in Central Park and by the injuries he allegedly sustained. Crimes like these have a ripple effect on communities, causing unique trauma in addition to physical harm. We ask anyone with information to contact @NYPDTips. https://t.co/JmnZnd6xFO
Anti-Semitic incidents in the US have skyrocketed in the past year, according to an annual report by the ADL. Antisemitic incidents reported to the ADL in 2021 (2,717) were 34% more than in 2020 and the highest number since the organization began tracking antisemitic attacks in 1979.
Anti-Semitic attacks have also increased in New York, with a 125% increase last month compared to November 2021, according to data released by the NYPD and reported by New York’s ABC 7 News. New York police this month arrested a man accused of firing a BB gun at a Jewish father and his son outside a kosher supermarket on Staten Island, CBS reported.
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