A New York City man was sentenced on Tuesday in a Manhattan court to 90 days in jail and five years probation for an antisemitic attack on an Israeli tourist just days after the October 7 Hamas massacre.
Yehia Amin had pleaded guilty in March to assault as a hate crime in the third degree. The sentence was agreed to in the plea deal.
The attack took place near Times Square
(Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP)
The attack took place near Times Square on October 18, 2023. There, Amin stalked a group of Israelis, who were all wearing kippot, and made antisemitic remarks including “Hamas should kill more of you,” “May Allah kill you. May Allah kill all the Jews” and “All Jews should die,” the New York Daily News reported, citing prosecutors.
After the group of Jewish Israelis reported Amin's actions to a security guard in the area he continued his harassment, shouting epithets including “All Jews are crybabies,” “I want to die for Gaza” and “I want to kill you.”
He followed the Israelis into a nearby train station and punched the victim, 23, in the head before trying to flee. He was run down by the Israeli young men and arrested by a police officer who joined the chase.
When Judge Althea Drysdale asked Amin on Tuesday why he was smiling in the courtroom, he replied through an interpreter that he wanted to look good for the cameras, according to the Daily News.
Approximately 44% of all hate crimes recorded in 2023 were antisemitic in nature, according to a report released by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli in August 2024. In the week following the October 7 attacks, the city saw 20 antisemitic hate crimes.