Anti-Semitism is alive and well, even in New York. But so is good Samaritanism: the other day, a Bangladeshi named Hassan Askari stepped in to assist a group of Jews who were being attacked by a gang of ten thugs on the subway.
What’s slightly amusing to me about this headline is how small Askari is (140 pounds), and how big (and intimidating) Walter Adler seems to be, what with the leather coat and all. But I suppose in these situations there’s a lot of power even in the symbolic act of stepping up and challenging the mob — even if you’re just going to get pummeled by guys who look like this. (Apparently, Askari’s intervention gave Adler time to pull the emergency brake, which alerted the cops.) According to the New York Post story on this, afterwards Adler invited Askari over to his house to celebrate Hanukkah. A nice touch.
Incidentally, before people start speculating, the goons in question are Caucasians; two of them have even been charged with hate crimes–against blacks–before.
(Earlier desi hero story here. Apparentely Amarjit Singh hasn’t been doing so well, but the NY Daily News started a fund to help him out.)
This story is touching. I was surprised to read that the train was crowded, doesn’t it seem like someone else would have pulled the emergency brake anyway? Also, the attackers seem to be ethnically Russian / eastern European, interesting.
In the pictures – is that a real gun?
Thank God Mr. Askari was there to help defend Mr. Adler! He (Askari) is a hero and an excellent role model. It looks like he was the only to take the bold step and intervene during the hate crime. I hope all the victims of this crime make a full recovery and wish them success in life.
As for the the attackers, I hope they rot in jail. Anti Semitism (and racism) sucks.
“A random Muslim guy jumped in and helped a Jewish guy on Hanukkah – that’s a miracle…”
Hmm….
Props to Mr. Askari, though.
To Nala #1: I have read about anti Semitism and attacks on people of the Judaic Faith in Russia and east Europe. I don’t have any statistics, but it seem like it is a problem in certain regions. Many times, racist scum bags will blame a scapegoat (like Jewish people and other minorities, etc.) for a bad economic situation or their own troubles.
Just for comparison, Israel has seen some Neo-Nazi activity within the non-occupied territories. The perps were from Russia as well. Their M.O. seems to be similar as well, beating the more helpless and isolated members of society.
http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=865
this was the link i meant to add.
It’s just interesting to me because (and I admit I don’t know all about New York City’s demography, immigration patterns, etc.) it seems to me that a large portion of New York’s Jewish population (more recent immigrants) also hails from eastern Europe/Russia.
The sad thing is that a lot of the Neo-Nazi stuff in Israel and anti-Semitic upsurge in Eastern Europe is Jew-on-Jew crime. It is just that these kids have been so removed from their own culture and influenced by the majority culture that they have completely divorced their own “jewishness” from the race-baiting hatred of a collapsing economy and society.
In the older Desi hero story, I am surprised that there is no kind of insurance that deals with workplace related incidents. While he would not be covered for going after the guy outside the premises, shouldn’t he be covered by one of the myriad insurances a commercial establishment usually possesess? I am going to send a check to him.
When you said possibly Russian assailants, my ears got all tingly! Another bangla brother trying to fight the hordes of Russian racists?!! Alas, based on the perps’ names, eastern European, yes, but not Russian. Just a little FYI from Moscow. I’m guessing possibly Serbian, but my expertise doesn’t extend very far on that side of Ukraine.
There weren’t any others on the subway at the time? No one who could at least pull the emergency brake (considering cell phones don’t work in the NY subway)…
And one of the goons is also either serving or wants to serve in Iraq – is it just me or do the MySpace pictures look eerily like they’re trying to re-create the Abu Ghraib pictures?
nala, yes, but part of the reason there is a large E. European/Russian Jewish population in NYC is specifically for the reason murali mentioned — pogroms were widespread, as was religious intolerance in Russia and the USSR (and probably still persists today). It’s not strange to see the hatred/behaviors from abroad echo in the diaspora.
And hooray for Mr. Askari. I saw this yesterday, and it made me smile.
this just in..sad..
http://www.wdsu.com/news/14853139/detail.html
Brown man can’t get no breaks, bacon don’t like no brown man. 10 white men attack a brown one and the brown man gets arrested too?
Yea, and a good number of those reared in this “beat the jews” atmosphere took advantage of the fairly open aliyah policies favored by Israel throughout the seventies. Documentation from their home countries was fairly sketchy, especially to prove the maternal link to Judaic heritage (whether or not it was true by that standard–Israel’s hybrid market/ethnic-socialism economy was certainly better than the uncertainty faced by those who remained behind). If those neo-nazis had come to NY, instead of Israel, they might have picked up a christian identity (pun intended) to better facilitate (in their mind) the anti-semitic behavior. It’s so hard to justify violence when the person you’re targeting could credibly claim to be your co-religion/co-ethnic etc.
Have you seen The Believer – it is about a young Jew who descends increasingly deeper into anti Semitism? The movie has interesting ideas, although its exploration of the core issues isn’t as great as it could have been.
It’s not really Jew on Jew – some of these Russian immigrants will have just one Jewish grandparent, and that’s it. That is the case in both Russians moving to Israel and NY.
Whoa – that took a lot of heart and a lot of courage. Very inspiring, especially when considering the physical differences between Askari and the asshats. I hope those clowns have fun in jail.
There is something so WWII about this title. Kudos, of course to the brave young man. But it is interesting to me that crimes are now being looked more and more through the ethnic lens.
Kudos to Askari.
It’s always chilling for me to read about anti-semitism. I’ve personally experienced so little of it, I forget it exists. But it sure does.
Speaking of hate crimes, could this double murder last night of Telugu PhD students in LSU be a hate crime? A friend of mine at LSU also faced hate crimes.
I know this is off topic, but speaking of the New York Post. Anyone read the head line for Ike Turner’s death in the New York Post?
“Ike ‘beats’ Tina to death'”
So mean and funny at the same time.
This little Muslim guy has that immigrant strength to him. You wont see any little ABD doing that at least not this one(pointing at myslef). This would of been a situation where I just turn the volume up on my IPOD and pretend like I dont know whats going on. The guy doesnt even have health insurance and still did that and after he got hurt just walked off the wounds because he couldnt afford to go to a doctor. Good to see stories like this.
WOW!! That news about the 2 Indian guys is sad as hell, especially the part about the guys pregnant wife finding the 2 of them shot to death. This couple, working that hard to get PhD’s in Chemistry and starting a family at the same time only to be crushed by some ass hole trying to find a way to get money for some crack, most likely. Heart breaking.
I am shocked that this attack happened in NYC, of all places.
I watched as a 5’6, probably 130-lb friend (also from Bangladesh)accosted three guys who had just gotten in a fight with a South Asian shopkeeper and busted his glass door and kept them from leaving before the cops came. It’s not really about size as the authority you somehow manage to exert.
LSU Murders are really upsetting me today. This is so senseless and hits way too close to home. I am going there in end December to visit Ph.D. friends from India. Hopefully we will know more than the AP is telling us soon.
there’s hope for nyc yet:) just kidding. well done to mr. askari. maybe he will be one of cnn’s “heroes” next year.
From the New York Post article..one of the attackers:
scary scary scary…
Bernhard Goetz should start riding the NYC subways again.
I just read an article on Joseph Jirovec’s 2006 attack on some African-American kids. He claims that he is a member of the Bloods (he seems to have adopted a gang persona in the pics)and that the attack was a gang rather than race thing.
re: comments about Jew-on-Jew violence, the attacker claiming he has a Jewish mother and that two of his codefendants are Jewish seems to be lying. As louiecypher notes, he made a similar claim before.
No ignoblus, I’m saying that at least in his mind it is quite possible that the perp feels a part of the Bloods organization. His manner of dress doesn’t look skinhead. In the photos he’s wearing baggy pants hanging low. But whatever the nature of that 2006 attack, it seems pretty clear that he his an anti-semite even if his claims of Jewish ancestry are true
Re 27:
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first instance of anti-semites or neo-Nazis infiltrating the army recently. See this report, for instance.
Shaad Wrote:
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first instance of anti-semites or neo-Nazis infiltrating the army recently. See this report, for instance.
You raise a good point, but the U.S Army also needs plenty of new recruits who are Arab-hating Islamophobes, and harbor a general disdain for people with brown skin from exotic cultures.
So, my guess is that this guy will do just fine.
Ironic when you consider the fact that an Arab country like Syria gave refuge and protection to Nazi/SS war criminals like Alois Brunner after World War II.
To add to what Vikram said. A few brown countries in the middle east have had David Duke as guest to there country
It good to see a jew and muslim on the same side for once. I think the last time they were on the same side was in The Clash video for Rock the Casbah.
The Clash video may have been the last time, but it certainly wasn’t the first.
Now this might be getting off topic, but most of the skinhead crews (racist, non-racist, and anti-racist) of NYC have been pretty well integrated into the street-gang system for almost 30 years. And by the ’90s most of them had traded tight jeans for baggy pants, and a generally ‘gangsta’ look. That’s largely true in Europe as well. And this wouldn’t be the first time you had Jewish white-supremecist gangsta skinheads from Brooklyn.
SH, I don’t hate to dissent with you in the least. Take your crypto anti-Semite storylines somewhere where people are less naive and ignorant than here. Oh, and maybe read the coverage of the incident, if it doesn’t tax your vestigial brain cells too badly.
what is ironic is the coverage on the front of the new york post, the newspaper that labors so consistently to inflame tensions between jews and muslims through its headlines and editorials.
i would almost call it condescending and patronizing actually.
It’s totally unfair that my contrarian views were censored through deletion. No one else has given the necessary context to understand why the two combatant parties did as they did.
I agree with “Naveen” about the NY Post, though in another way.
The very Zionist NY Post has framed Askari as hero, mainly cuz he helped a Jew at his expense. That’s the real reason he received front-page coverage.
Compare: Where was the NY Post a few months ago when a gang of Orthodox Jews beat up a random Bangledeshi, who was eating ice cream and minding his own business, solely for being Muslim? That made, what? — page 13?
Guy’s a real hero.
I noticed that all Bangladeshis that I’ve met all claim that they came from very prominent families. The Bangladeshi family down the street from me, the woman who works at a school cafeteria, always bring this up. Same way, Hassan seems to do this as well.
From BBC News:
The slightly-built accountancy student – who comes from an aristocratic Bengali family – was travelling from home on 9 December when he saw the attack take place on a crowded train.
I think that all Bangladeshis came from very prominent families with many servants, drivers, and vast plantations of jute and coffee.
Unnecessary targeting of Bangladeshis, don’t you think?
@ Boston_Mahesh “You said: I noticed that all Bangladeshis that I’ve met all claim that they came from very prominent families”.
Your comments are very unfair. I don’t know what type of people you hang around, you failed to look at the picture of his elders on BBC website (the one who was knighted by British government) while you quote from there. He says that his grand father was rich and they are not rich anymore.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7149916.stm
If your family wasn’t prominent, it doesn’t mean that is the case with everyone else.
i agree with 100% with London_boy. I think, majority of people who come Sub-continent are either Middle or upper class. ‘Cuz they can afford to come here and study. I also read similar article in BBC which says his ancestors were knighted by the British. I think it is very credible … because i personally met a family few years ago who used to live in Jamica, NY and they are the descendents of Dhaka Nawabs… so nothig to be surprised of..
I do not understand all the fuss, especialyy from Muslims. Aren’t we supposed to assist anybody in need, regardless of their religion? so what if he was a jew? We mustn’t hate anybody
touching. i hope israel and palestine can learn a lesson from this