Crown Heights – A 64-year-old rabbi, the father-in-law of popular Hasidic singer Benny Friedman, was hit in the head by a stone brick thrown at him while walking Tuesday morning in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn.
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Rabbi Avraham Gopin was hospitalized with “a broken nose, missing teeth, stitches on his head and lacerations on his body,” Friedman posted on Twitter. Gopin is a dual Israeli-American citizen, according to Haaretz.
“This morning, at 7:45am, my father in law went for his morning walk, like he always does. Suddenly a man started yelling at him, and started chasing him, holding a huge brick,” Friedman tweeted in a thread that also included a photo of his father-in-law’s bloody tzitit, a ritual garment Orthodox Jewish men typically wear daily under their clothing.
New York City Councilman Chaim Deutch tweeted that the police are investigating the attack as a hate crime.
The Anti-Defamation League said it was offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the assailant.
“Thank Gd, all things considered, my father in law is doing ok,” Friedman tweeted on Tuesday afternoon.
“We need safer communities. Where I come from in Minnesota, this would be front page headlines. But here in Brooklyn, this is just the latest event.”
Several identifiably Jewish men have been assaulted in Brooklyn over the past few months.
(JTA)
This morning, as my father in law was walking in Rochester Park in Crown Heights, he was attacked with a deadly weapon. This is absolutely frightening, and obviously something that a civilization should never tolerate. May Hashem protect us, and we should only share good news. https://t.co/ZEYjk92Fms
— Benny Friedman (@BennysMusic) August 27, 2019
Thank you Mr. Mayor for looking into this.
May G-d Al-mighty bless you with success in the holy task of keeping the people of this great city safe.
Our family appreciates very much the support and concern. https://t.co/EKtW34212W
— Benny Friedman (@BennysMusic) August 28, 2019
