Worshipers at synagogue threatened by men screaming anti-Semitic slurs
'People are literally afraid to walk the streets,' state assemblyman says
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Three young men spewed hateful threats to worshipers and damaged a car at a Brooklyn synagogue Saturday, "traumatizing" witnesses amid violence in the Middle East and New York.
The alleged agitators drove down 16th Ave in Borough Park yelling "f–k the Jews," "kill the Jews" and "free Palestine," as worshipers gathered to pray at the Agudath Israel of Sixteenth Avenue Orthodox around 8 p.m., witnesses said.
One witness told The Post the men got out of the car and gave chase to him and two other Jewish people while screaming hateful threats.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The purported instigators then banged on the doors of the temple, which had been locked by those inside marking the end of the Sabbath, according to witnesses on the scene.
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After being locked out of the synagogue, a member of the group damaged the passenger side mirror of an unoccupied Audi Q7 that was parked outside of the building, before speeding off in a getaway car, witnesses told The Post.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"People are literally afraid to walk the streets," State Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein said outside the synagogue early Sunday morning. "This Shabbos, I’ve had people tell me I never believed I'd hear this in my lifetime. I’m afraid to walk the streets, I’m afraid to let my children walk the streets of Borough Park."
"We need our leaders to come out forcefully. Today it’s the Orthodox community, tomorrow it’s a different community," the Democrat said.
Police were on the scene dusting the car for fingerprints after midnight, and detectives said they are investigating the alleged incident.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}No one was injured, and no weapons were displayed, according to the witnesses, but community members were terrified.
"There were kids all over, it was traumatizing," an unnamed witness said.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The alleged hate crime, according to witnesses, comes two days after dozens were arrested in a Times Square melee that saw fists and fireworks flying between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine demonstrators.
No arrests or violence was reported at a large pro-Palestine march in Queens Saturday.
A tentative cease-fire between Israel and Hamas took hold Friday after an 11-day war over disputed territory in the West Bank left nearly 250 people dead — including 232 Palestinians.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Click here to read more of the New York Post.