A 19-year-old ultra-Orthodox youth was attacked by two men of Middle Eastern descent in Sweden on Saturday. The Hasidic youth was walking on a street in the city of Davos, where he was vacationing with his family, who live in London.
As he was walking down the street, two men, aged between 20 and 25, approached him and proceeded to strike him in the face, knock off his kippah, spit on him and shout “Free Palestine,” at him.
The Hasidic youth told ultra-Orthodox news outlet Behadrei Haredim that a non-Jewish passerby intervened on his behalf, picked up his kippah and returned it to him. He added he had a few moments to regain his composure thanks to the assistance. Afterward, he ran toward the hotel where his family was staying.
The assaulted youth mentioned that the two men who beat him weren’t residents of Switzerland. “They’re definitely of Middle Eastern origin, they chased after me, but when I reached the hotel, they left because they saw that there were many people there,” he said.
Meanwhile, the local police were called to the scene. The officers who arrived took his statement and left the hotel. The 19-year-old mentioned the person who picked up his kippah and helped him provided his phone number to give to the police if they wanted to take his testimony and it was passed on to the police.
The youth said that he wasn’t seriously injured and that he “feels okay,” but doesn’t plan to walk the area alone anymore. On Friday, he went to the police station with his father to provide additional testimony about the violence he suffered at the hands of the two antisemitic attackers.
Haredi man attacked in suspected hate crime in Switzerland (ynetnews.com)