Manhattan, New York, NY – A pro-Israel protester, after surviving a savage Times Square beatdown from a half-dozen hate-fueled attackers, felt lucky to be alive Friday.
Joseph Borgen, 29, said his antisemitic assailants appeared out of nowhere Thursday evening at the corner of W. 48th St. and Seventh Ave. while he walked toward a protest where supporters of both Israel and Palestine squared off in dueling demonstrations over the conflict on the Gaza Strip.
“All of a sudden, I turn around and see someone chasing me,” the Jewish man from Lawrence, L.I., told the Daily News. “They hit me with fists, kicked me, hit me with crutches, hit me with signs … They were saying, ‘You dirty Jew, fuck Israel, go back to your country!’”
The abuse, captured in a chilling video, continued unabated for four terrifying minutes. Borgen was also blinded for several hours after the attackers blasted pepper spray into his eyes during the 6:30 p.m. pounding.
