By Jeff Lipton
A month after a 41-year-old Lawrence man was the victim of an alleged anti-Semitic attack on Yom Kippur - the holiest day of the year for Jews - a 16-year-old boy has been arrested and charged in the incident, police said.
Ronald Edelstein of Longwood Crossing was walking home from Yom Kippur services at Congregation Beth Sholom at about 2 P.M. Monday, Oct. 9, when he was confronted by three boys on bicycles. One youth, identified as William Jakubowski of Cedarhurst Avenue, Cedarhurst, allegedly punched Mr. Edelstein in the shoulder with a closed fist and uttered anti-Semitic slurs at him, detectives said. The teenager was arrested on Thursday, Nov. 9, and charged with aggravated harassment in the second degree, said Detective Al Samaniego of the Nassau County Bias Squad.
Two 14-year-old boys who were with the suspect have not been charged by police, Detective Samaniego said.
"My parents were Holocaust survivors," said Mr. Edelstein. "They survived Hitler's onslaught. We will not let that happen again. We will not take this abuse. We cannot let them get away with it."
According to Mr. Edelstein, he left Yom Kippur services early at Beth Sholom, where he has been a member for five years, because he was getting tired and had a headache. Dressed in a suit and wearing a yarmulke on his head, he was approached by the teens, who were circling behind him with their bikes, at Washington Avenue and Hollywood Crossing, he said.
"It was like they were stalking me; they were following close behind me," said Mr. Edelstein, who is in the real-estate business and owns apartment buildings in Washington Heights and Inwood in Manhattan. "My reasoning is that they came looking for trouble."
As they passed him, he heard them utter vulgar anti-Semitic slurs and curses.
"I'm a working guy and I was not going to take any of this nonsense, and I yelled back at them, 'If all three of you guys think you are so tough, why don't you come back here and say that to my face?'"
The boys sped away, turning left on Hollywood Crossing, and Mr. Edelstein said he wanted to see what they were up to and saw them riding their bikes in the driveway of an Orthodox Jewish family on Mistletoe Way. He then continued to walk home, fearful that they could attack him at any moment. Mr. Edelstein then crossed over to Ocean Avenue and stayed on Hollywood Crossing, which runs into Briarwood Crossing in back Lawrence.
At that point, the boys spotted Mr. Edelstein on Ocean Avenue, and two of them, including the 16-year-old, sped toward him, the victim said.
"They looked at me and they started to pedal and they really gave it the gun," Mr. Edelstein said. "They were pedaling so fast and were coming directly at me at full speed." As they got within four feet of him, they split up and he tried to grab the 14-year-old, he said. The 16-year-old then punched him in the shoulder and pedaled away. Mr. Edelstein said he tried to detain the third youth, who was watching, but was unsuccessful.
Mr. Edelstein said the boy that struck him raised his hand straight in the air and yelled, "Heil Hitler," and said, "Go back to Israel, where you belong, you ---- Jew.
"'My grandfather was a Nazi and my father was a Nazi,'" he quoted the suspect as saying.
"I thought, what did I do to deserve that. Those words hurt," Mr. Edelstein said.
He said two young women in a black sport-utility vehicle pulled up, and one shouted at the youths, "I saw what you did. No one has the right to be treated like that. I know your mother. I'm going to tell your mother what you did."
They then drove after the youths, who were speeding away, and the driver exited the SUV and tried to follow them on foot. When the youths could not be found, the women checked if Mr. Edelstein was okay. He then thanked them and hugged the driver for stopping to assist him.
After he reassured them that he was okay, even though he was in some pain emotionally and physically, he said, they drove away. Mr. Edelstein contacted police, who identified the youths the following day. After a month-long police investigation, the 16-year-old, accompanied by his lawyer and parents, surrendered to the Bias Unit at police headquarters in Mineola.
Although officials said they have a solid case against the youth, they urge the two women who helped Mr. Edelstein to come forward to further solidify the case. The 16-year-old was charged with aggravated harassment in the second degree, a Class A misdemeanor, which carries up to a year in jail, said Detective Samaniego. "The case is very strong now, but if two independent witnesses come forward, it would be even stronger," the detective said.
The incident occurred a day after the new state Hate Crime Law took effect, which enhances penalties for bias crimes. But officials said the case would not fall under the new law because it does not fit any of the specifications of the new law. "It doesn't apply to this incident," Detective Samaniego said.
Mr. Edelstein praised Bias Squad detectives for their work in the case.
"Oh, absolutely, we take these bias incidents very seriously," Detective Samaniego said.
Any witnesses to the Oct. 9 incident are urged to call the Bias Squad at (516) 573-7729.
