Three men charged in New York State after stealing Jewish man’s hat and yelling antisemitic slurs as he left synagogue on the Sabbath

Three men have been charged after stealing a Jewish man’s religious hat (shtreimel) and yelling antisemitic slurs in New York State.

The Jewish man reportedly told the police that whilst in the village of Fleischmanns, one of three assailants jumped out of a van, stole his shtreimel, and returned to the van before the suspects started yelling antisemitic slurs towards him.

The reported incident occurred in Delaware Country on 24th July at approximately 10:45 am, whilst the man was walking back from a synagogue on the Jewish Sabbath. State police charged the three men, all in their early twenties, with grand larceny in the third degree as a hate crime, a class C felony. The shtreimel has since been returned to the Jewish man.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo released a statement on Twitter regarding the incident, writing: “I’d like to commend the New York State Police on a prompt, successful investigation following a disturbing antisemitic hate crime that took place in Delaware County. It is unacceptable for a Jewish man walking from a synagogue on Sabbath to be singled out, have his shtreimel ripped from his head and be verbally attacked because of his religion.

“This is New York, one of the most diverse collection of people from around the globe, and we will continue to stand together, united in our commonalities, and call out these vile incidents of hate whenever they occur. We will use every tool at our [disposal] to weed this hatred out of our state and ensure that love will always win.”

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