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Joseph Borgen was beaten in the streets while wearing a kippah. Now, he’s fighting in the NYC court system
(New York Jewish Week) — Before Joseph Borgen was beaten in the street nearly two years ago, on the way to a pro-Israel rally, he enjoyed playing basketball after returning home to the Upper East Side from his day job as an accountant.
In the time since Borgen, now 30, was attacked, that hasn’t been possible. The incident — in which five men shouting antisemitic slurs punched, kicked, pepper-sprayed and beat Borgen with crutches — left him needing surgery on his wrist. Only recently has he started going back to the gym.
“It’s something that is still lingering and I’d love to put it in my rearview,” Borgen, who is the eldest of five siblings, told the New York Jewish Week. “It doesn’t just only affect me. My little brother was seeing me on the news. He’s still a kid. We’re very close.”
The attack on Borgen drew national attention, and came amid a string of antisemitic assaults in the United States surrounding the May 2021 conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Now, Borgen is caught in a conflict of a different kind, one that illustrates the long tail of hate crimes that have faded from public consciousness. He doesn’t want the beating to define him, but finds that its after-effects have festered — and that a controversy over the ensuing trial of his alleged attackers has spurred him to become a passionate, if ambivalent, advocate against antisemitism.
“There is some value and good in speaking about what happened and just getting the message out there,” Borgen said. “But it’s not something I want to harp on.”
Joey Borgen, victim of a violent antisemitic attack last yr which took place few blocks from Times Square, said “The attack on me was no isolated incident. Pittsburgh to Poway to across the river in NJ— violent, deadly antisemtism is increasing to record levels”#ShineALight pic.twitter.com/4x29t9Pzi2
— JCRC of New York (@JCRCNY) November 29, 2021
Borgen was walking to a pro-Israel rally when he was attacked in the street in midtown Manhattan on May 20, 2021 — the same day Hamas and Israel announced a ceasefire after 11 days of conflict. A blurry video of the attack that circulated on social media showed a small crowd of men surrounding Borgen, kicking him and beating him with sticks. A photo of Borgen from later that night shows Borgen with a puffy red face, and wearing a neck brace.
“I was just wearing a kippah, listening to music, just minding my own business — and it all just erupted,” Borgen said, recalling the incident. “Before I can even really react or do anything, there’s a group of individuals surrounding me. I didn’t have the time to process what was going on.”
Borgen is still facing those who have been accused of attacking him — but that confrontation has moved to the courts. The lead perpetrator, Waseem Awawdeh, was charged with hate crime assault, along with a list of other charges. The case is still in process, and the next hearing is on April 20.
“I can’t even tell you how hard personally I’ve been fighting for this,” Borgen told the New York Jewish Week. “If there’s no accountability or consequences of what took place, what happened to me is going to happen to someone else.”
Borgen is currently worried that Awawdeh will go to prison for a small fraction of the maximum sentence he faces, which, according to Borgen’s attorney, is 15 years. That concern stems from reports in the New York Post and New York Sun that Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg offered Awawdeh a six-month plea deal.
Those reports have sparked a chorus of criticism, as well as a letter to Bragg by nearly two dozen groups lobbying against the deal. The signatories were a mix of right-wing, pro-Israel and Orthodox groups, including the Rabbinical Council of America, an association for Orthodox rabbis; the Zionist Organization of America, a right-wing organization; and Americans Against Antisemitism, a group founded by former New York State Assemblymember Dov Hikind, who represented a Brooklyn district.
“Failing to impose severe consequences here would send the dangerous and unacceptable message that Jews can be brutally attacked with impunity,” said the letter, which was sent earlier this month.
Hikind told the New York Jewish Week that he wants more Jews to vocally support Borgen. “We need to fill the courtroom,” Hikind said. “Unfortunately, we’re just not there. The community needs to come out.”
The six-month deal, however, seems like far from a sure thing. Awawdeh’s lawyer, Peter Marc Frankel, confirmed the deal to the Post in January, as did prosecutors on the case. But speaking to the New York Jewish Week on Monday, Frankel said he was unsure if the deal would come to fruition.
“I don’t know if it’s going to happen, frankly,” Frankel said. “It’s unclear at this point. I don’t know if it’s going to be a six-month deal, but I would not expect a shorter deal, certainly.”
The deal has not yet been openly discussed in court, and Borgen’s lawyer, Ross Pearlson, who is representing his client pro-bono on behalf of the Anti-Defamation League, told the New York Jewish Week that “it’s not clear” if the six-month deal will hold.
“I’m unaware of any offers being made,” Pearlson said. “I believe that a year would be more appropriate. Six months to me still seems a little light considering the mob violence and the damage that was done to [Borgen].”
Bragg’s office declined to comment on the deal. The ADL likewise did not respond to requests for comment on the case.
Shortly after the attack, in 2021, a prosecutor on the case said that Awawdeh had told one of his jailers, “If I could do it again, I would do it again,” according to the Post. But Frankel told the New York Jewish Week that “that quote was taken completely out of context” and that Awawdeh has offered to meet and apologize to Borgen. He also met with the prosecutors to explain how remorseful he felt.
“[Awawdeh’s] behavior was the result of bad impulse control and a bad reaction to a bad situation, rather than an effort to try to seek someone out who is Jewish to commit a hate crime,” Frankel said.
Pearlson added that Borgen “has been traumatized by this event.”
“He’s very emotional when I speak to him about it,” Pearlson said. “He gets agitated for each one of these court appearances. When we talk about the case, he’s passionate about it.”
There are now five defendants in the case, including Awawdeh, and the D.A.’s office is treating them differently based on their alleged respective roles in the beating.
“Justice is not one size fits all,” Pearlson said. “It doesn’t move quickly, but in this case, it’s not the D.A.’s office delaying things or dragging its heels. There’s going to be some element of justice done.”
The fact that Borgen’s case is being prosecuted at all puts it in the minority of hate crimes complaints in Manhattan. According to NYPD statistics, police precincts in the borough received 241 hate crime complaints in 2022, and made 118 arrests based on those complaints.
Bragg’s office told the New York Jewish Week that 92 hate crimes were prosecuted in Manhattan last year. His office currently has 20 open hate crime cases related to antisemitism for this year. A report last year in The City, a local publication, found that most hate crimes charges are dropped before any convictions take place.
Although Borgen remains involved in the case, and has spoken about his experience publicly, he suggested that it was still hard to think about.
“Some people have said, ‘God only put you through this because you can handle it,’” said Borgen, who is modern Orthodox and puts on tefillin daily. “But if I start to think about it in those terms, I don’t want to go there. I don’t want to let it factor into my views on God and spirituality because if I did, it might make me start to question and wonder about things. I don’t want to go down that road.”
On March 9, Borgen appeared in court, sitting in the same room as his alleged attackers. While he could not comment on the specifics of the hearing, not wanting to impact court proceedings, he said that “it sucks to be in the same room as individuals who could have killed me.”
“I don’t like going to court,” Borgen said. “I do it because when I’m there with other people, a large group of Jewish individuals, it sends a message that we’re not lying down and taking this.”
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‘The world needs more Trumps’: US president receives a hero’s welcome in Israeli parliament
(JTA) — The Israeli government will wage a campaign to promote President Donald Trump as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize, the a top lawmaker announced Monday as Trump visited the Knesset to mark the ceasefire deal he brokered between Israel and Hamas.
Trump received a lengthy standing ovation — over two minutes — when he first arrived in the parliament after landing in Israel on Monday, just after the 20 living hostages who remained in Gaza returned to their country.
A series of speakers then lavished him with praise, emphasizing his devotion to the hostages and the peace that may follow in the region. Trump was scheduled to leave Israel Monday afternoon for a peace summit in Egypt.
“The world needs more Trumps,” said Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, who said he would work with U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to rally world leaders to nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. (Nominations for the prize, which was awarded for this year on Friday, in January.)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he would nominate Trump to become the first-ever non-Israeli to win the Israel Prize. Listing Trump’s pro-Israel bona fides, he repeated a sentiment that he has shared before: “Donald Trump is the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House.”
And opposition leader Yair Lapid, too, praised Trump. “The fact that you were not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize is a grave mistake by the committee, but they will have no choice, Mr. President, they will have to award it to you next year,” he said. “Peace will not come by waiting. It will come by building, by reaching out and by daring, once again, to believe. You, Mr. President, have done the unimaginable. We will be eternally grateful.”
Israelis have celebrated Trump for pressing for the ceasefire deal that resulted in the release of the hostages. Signs praising him have popped up at rallies around the country.
The post ‘The world needs more Trumps’: US president receives a hero’s welcome in Israeli parliament appeared first on The Forward.
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Trump heralds ‘the historic dawn of a new Middle East’ in speech to Israeli parliament after hostages returned
In Jerusalem on Monday, President Donald Trump celebrated the implementation of a viable ceasefire in Gaza with the return of the last living hostages after two years in captivity.
“This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East,” Trump told the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. “After so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today, the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still, and the sun rises on a Holy Land that is finally at peace, a land and a region that will live, God willing, in peace for all eternity.”
Ahead of his address, Trump met with several freed hostages and the families of Israelis who were held by Hamas in Gaza.
On the anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, Trump recognized its impact. “The United States of America grieved alongside you, and we mourned for our own citizens who were so viciously taken that day,” he said in his speech. “And to all the families whose lives were forever changed by the atrocities of that day, and to all the people of Israel, please know that America joins you in those two everlasting vows: Never forget, and never again.”
Hamas killed almost 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7 and kidnapped about 250. Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip, where the hostages were taken, have since killed at least 66,000 Palestinians, the Gaza Health Ministry says, and left much of the enclave in ruins.
Trump noted that Israel’s military had accomplished what it could. “Israel, with our help, has won all that can be won by force of arms,” he said. “Now, it is time to translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East.”
Trump has received multiple standing ovations and sustained applause during his speech. He was briefly heckled by two members of the Knesset who held up a sign that said “Recognize Palestine.” They were quickly removed.
Acknowledged at the Knesset before Trump’s speech were special Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, credited with helping to shape the deal, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, among others. As Ivanka Trump made her way into the chamber, the Knesset broke into applause. She also received a standing ovation when Trump mentioned, during his speech, that she had converted.
Trump’s popularity in Israel
In his introduction of the president, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Donald Trump is the greatest friend that the state of Israel has ever had in the White House.”
Trump was the fourth U.S. president to address the Knesset — and only the second Republican, following George W. Bush’s 2008 speech on Israel’s 60th anniversary. He was also the third president to do so after brokering a peace agreement between Israel and its neighbors: Bill Clinton spoke in 1994, a year after the signing of the Oslo Accords, and Jimmy Carter in 1979, after brokering the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt. The late Richard Nixon also visited the Knesset during the first-ever U.S. presidential trip to Israel in 1974, though he only spoke at a reception held in his honor.
Netanyahu has addressed a joint session of Congress four times – the most of any international leader.
But Trump made history in Israel by being the first American leader to address representatives of a nation that credits him more than its own leadership with ending the trauma of its longest war. The speech also comes five years after Trump brokered four normalization deals between Israel and Arab states, known as the Abraham Accords. “There’s never been an event like it,” Netanyahu told Israeli reporters as he walked into the chamber Monday.
Leading up to Trump’s speech, the speaker of the Knesset, Amir Ohana, said, “Mr. President, you stand before the people of Israel not as another American president, but as a giant of Jewish history, one for whom we must look back two and a half millennia into the mists of time to find a parallel, Cyrus the Great. You, President Donald J. Trump, are a colossus who will be enshrined in the pantone of history.”
That sentiment was also evident at the weekly Saturday night rally for the hostages in Tel Aviv, where boos erupted at the mention of Netanyahu’s name by Witkoff — in sharp contrast to the enthusiastic applause and cheers for Trump.
Many Israelis credit Trump alone for securing the release of the remaining hostages and ending the two-year conflict with Hamas in Gaza, while blaming their longtime leader for the failures surrounding the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and prolonging the conflict. Some have also accused Netanyahu of showing little empathy toward the families of the hostages and of undermining negotiations for their release.
Trump repeatedly pointed to the massive crowds in Tel Aviv as proof that Israelis were eager to end the war and bring the hostages home.
Nonetheless, Trump struck a positive tone toward Netanyahu, praising his leadership and crediting him for his cooperation in reaching this moment. “He’s not the easiest guy to deal with, but that’s what makes him great,” Trump said about him in the Knesset. That endorsement could boost Netanyahu’s standing with the Israeli public ahead of an election year. Netanyahu was invited by Trump to join him on his ride from Ben Gurion Airport to Jerusalem Monday, giving the prime minister rare one-on-one time and an opportunity to shape the tone and content of the remarks.
Three members of Netanyahu’s coalition boycotted Trump’s speech, criticizing the terms of the deal and saying there’s no reason for celebration.
‘My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker’
When Trump first campaigned for president in 2016, he vowed to broker the “ultimate deal” to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His first term, however, was marked by a series of pro-Israel moves, including relocating the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. His ambitious peace plan, rolled out in January 2020, stalled amid Israeli political deadlock and rejection by Palestinian leaders. He then pivoted toward securing normalization agreements with Gulf states.
During the 2024 presidential election, Trump renewed his pledge to deliver peace in the Middle East, vowing to end the ongoing wars in Gaza and Lebanon while further isolating Iran.
“My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier,” Trump said at his inauguration.
Ten years after he launched his first White House bid and nine months after returning to power for a second term, Trump managed to eliminate an immediate nuclear threat from Iran, backed Israel in crushing Hezbollah as an Iranian proxy in the north, and last week oversaw the adoption of the first phase of a permanent ceasefire-for-hostages deal that could end the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and potentially bring regional peace.
Trump insists that his 20-point post-war plan would enhance Israel’s standing in America and globally and expand the Abraham Accords, though uncertainty remains about the next phases – disarming Hamas and establishing a coordinated Gaza reconstruction effort.
At the Knesset, Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to the deal, saying, “Mr. President, you are committed to this peace. I am committed to this peace. And together, Mr. President, we will achieve this peace.”
The post Trump heralds ‘the historic dawn of a new Middle East’ in speech to Israeli parliament after hostages returned appeared first on The Forward.
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‘The world needs more Trumps’: US president receives a hero’s welcome in Israeli parliament
The Israeli government will wage a campaign to promote President Donald Trump as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize, the a top lawmaker announced Monday as Trump visited the Knesset to mark the ceasefire deal he brokered between Israel and Hamas.
Trump received a lengthy standing ovation — over two minutes — when he first arrived in the parliament after landing in Israel on Monday, just after the 20 living hostages who remained in Gaza returned to their country.
A series of speakers then lavished him with praise, emphasizing his devotion to the hostages and the peace that may follow in the region. Trump was scheduled to leave Israel Monday afternoon for a peace summit in Egypt.
“The world needs more Trumps,” said Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, who said he would work with U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to rally world leaders to nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. (Nominations for the prize, which was awarded for this year on Friday, in January.)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he would nominate Trump to become the first-ever non-Israeli to win the Israel Prize. Listing Trump’s pro-Israel bona fides, he repeated a sentiment that he has shared before: “Donald Trump is the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House.”
And opposition leader Yair Lapid, too, praised Trump. “The fact that you were not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize is a grave mistake by the committee, but they will have no choice, Mr. President, they will have to award it to you next year,” he said. “Peace will not come by waiting. It will come by building, by reaching out and by daring, once again, to believe. You, Mr. President, have done the unimaginable. We will be eternally grateful.”
Israelis have celebrated Trump for pressing for the ceasefire deal that resulted in the release of the hostages. Signs praising him have popped up at rallies around the country.
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The post ‘The world needs more Trumps’: US president receives a hero’s welcome in Israeli parliament appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.