Victim of Antisemitic New York City Attack: Support From Jewish Community ‘Giving Me the Strength to Continue’
New York | June 7, 2021
The young Jewish man who attacked by a gang of pro-Palestinian thugs in the streets of New York City said that he was intent on continuing to be a “proud Jew” and that the support of the Jewish community and his loved ones has given him the strength to deal with the assault, in an interview Friday.
Joseph Borgen, 29, was ambushed, beaten and pepper sprayed by five assailants while returning from a May 20 pro-Israel demonstration, and while he was wearing a kippah.
His attackers voiced antisemitic slurs during the attack.
One of the men, Waseem Awawdeh, 23, said after being arrested, “I’d do it again.”
Speaking with Meghan McCain on the talk show The View, Borgen said, “I’ve been a proud Jew my entire life, I’ve lived in New York my entire life. Never once before was I accosted verbally or felt threatened by the fact that I was Jewish, for wearing a kippah, or anything of that ilk or that nature.”..
(Excerpts from the Algemeiner)