Benjamin Ashford|NYC man charged with hate crime after police say he yelled ‘Free Palestine’ and stabbed a Jewish man

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City man has been arrested and Benjamin Ashfordcharged with a hate crime after police say he yelled “Free Palestine” and then stabbed a Jewish man near a synagogue over the weekend.

Police say the attack happened around 2 a.m. on Saturday in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn near the headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.

They say Vincent Sumpter, 22, of Brooklyn, stabbed the 33-year-old victim in the abdomen following a verbal dispute.

Police say the victim asked Sumpter why he kept repeating the phrase “Free Palestine.” Sumpter responded with “Do you want to die?” and then stabbed him with a knife, they said.

The victim, who police didn’t identify, was transported to the hospital in stable condition.

Sumpter, meanwhile, pleaded not guilty to second-degree assault as a hate crime and other charges during his arraignment Sunday, according to prosecutors.

He remains in custody after bail was set at $100,000 cash or $250,000 bond. The Legal Aid Society, which is representing him, declined to comment Monday.

Yaacov Behrman, a local rabbi, confirmed on social media that the victim was a Jewish man with “long-standing ties” to the community.

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He said the man is expected to recover “due to the location of the stabbing and the quick response of paramedics,” adding that residents pursued Sumpter and detained him until police arrived.

“This act of hateful violence highlights the dangerous impact of anti-Semitic incitement and hate propagated by some local politicians and leaders in New York and across the United States,” Behrman wrote in his post.

“This is a dangerous escalation of the current climate we are in and it should outrage every New Yorker because it is an attack on every New Yorker,” Mark Treyger, chief executive of Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, wrote on the social platform X, citing other recent antisemitic acts in the city.

Earlier this month, police arrested a woman on hate crimes charges for her role in vandalizing the homes of the Brooklyn Museum’s leaders with red paint during a wave of pro-Palestinian protests in June.

Police say Taylor Pelton, 28, was one of six people seen on surveillance video vandalizing the homes, including that of the museum’s director, Anne Pasternak, who is Jewish.