A pro-Palestinian activist who brutally beat a Jewish man on a New York street and bragged afterwards that he’d “do it again” was sentenced to 18 months in jail on Tuesday.
In May 2021, Waseem Awawdeh, 25, and four other men targeted Joey Borgen, who was identifiably Jewish due to the kippah he was wearing, as he walked to a pro-Israel rally in Manhattan. The assault on Joey was an assault on the whole Jewish community and the community came out repeatedly to sit in court with him, showing solidarity tinged with anger at the way this despicable hate crime was being handled.
Awawdeh was reportedly originally offered a lenient plea deal to serve six months in jail by liberal Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg, but that agreement was rescinded after widespread outrage from Jewish advocacy groups. In his impact statement, Borgen emphasized the fact that Awawdeh showed no remorse; in fact, indicated he might very well repeat this type of heinous offense.
Another participant in the attack, Faisal Elezzi, was sentenced to three years of probation and mandatory “anti-bias training” in April 2023. Three other men are currently awaiting trial for their roles in the assault on Borgen.