NYPD officials are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying and locating two women wanted for committing a Hate Crime Assault this week.
Police say it happened on Thursday, November 9 at about 9:55 p.m. at the corner of 82nd and Riverside Drive.
The victim, a 41-year-old woman, observed two unknown females removing posters of people who’ve been held hostage by Hamas since October 7.
She engaged in a verbal dispute with the women while also recording them on her cell phone.
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Then, police say “The two females began to physically assault the victim, forcibly ripping off her Star of David necklace that was around her neck. The females also knocked the victim’s cell phone out of her hand and onto the ground, causing damage to the phone. The females then fled the location on foot to parts unknown. The victim sustained minor injuries to her face and neck but refused further medical attention at the scene. The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating.”
?WANTED?for a Hate Crime Assault at the corner of Riverside Drive and West 82 Street #UPPERWESTSIDE #manhattan On 11/09/23 @ 9:55 PM Reward up to $3500 Seen them? Know who they are? Call 1-800-577-TIPS or DM us! Calls are CONFIDENTIAL! #yourcityyourcall pic.twitter.com/Wv0mFphN74
— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) November 10, 2023
Police describe the female suspects as standing approximately 5’6″ and weighing about 135 pounds, both with medium complexions, thin builds and black hair. They were last seen wearing dark clothing, and one of them had a nose ring.
The victim was able to capture them on her cell phone and share their images with police.
Anyone with relevant information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by sending a direct message to @NYPDTips on Twitter.
Stephanie Gonzalez & Valeska Abarca are the attackers
And their point was…. what???
I won’t tell you the number of times I have seen the opposite: Jewish people (or those who support them) physically attacking people who take down the posters. I myself was attacked for doing so. (I happened to remove one poster while removing a non-“Kidnapped” poster,)
In NYC, it is illegal to “poster.” It is NOT illegal to take DOWN posters. This point was made to my attacker when the NYPD showed up and told him that if I wanted to press charges for assault, I had a right to do so, and he would be arrested. I chose not to do so because I realize emotions are high, and no purpose would have been served. (And I was not seriously injured. Had I been, my decision might have been different.)
But while the solidarity these posters represent is important, and worth supporting, if someone chooses to remove them, they are well within the law to do so, and attacking them is assault, which is an arrestable offense.
Ok, so assaulting people is against the law. Thanks for making that point.
I only did so because you would be surprised how quickly and unthinkingly many of the Jews and others who support this become if and when they see someone removing a poster. Emotions are so high that they act first, and do not think about those actions beforehand. Again, I have seen several instances of supporters physically attacking (to varying degrees) people who have removed the posters.
Attacking as in assaulting those who were removing the posters or interfering, as in stopping them from removing those? I haven’t seen the former once.
The moment one person touches another – to push, hove, prevent, or attack – it is an assault. So it doesn’t matter if the person doing the “attacking” is simply “interfering” with the person taking down the poster; if that person touches the other person, it is an assault.
And I will simply repeat for the studio audience: I have seen this occur several times.
Interfering doesn’t necessarily mean touching. And touching isn’t necessarily assault, though we can leave that to the lawyers. With that, you seem to have an agenda and this exchange seems to have exhausted itself. Happy Thanksgiving.