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An Israeli Army major, on vacation in New York with her family, was injured in the head when a giant rock smashed the windshield of the cab she was riding in on the FDR Tuesday night. The rock, allegedly dropped by two teens from an overpass near 71st Street, sent shards of glass into Gilat Raz's face above her left eye. Her 11-year-old daughter, Raz's sister and nephew were in the back and were unharmed. Raz, 41, tells the Daily News, "I've been driving in the West Bank, I've been in Gaza. I never imagined that New York would be where I'd get hit by a rock. It was scary how much I bled. The children were hysterical."
The cabbie rushed Raz to New York Hospital, where she received a couple stitches. Speaking to the Post, which got striking photos of a bloodied Raz and the damage to the cab, a witness says, "There was so much blood." Police say Caesar Estrella, 16, and Bajran Taipi, 15, dropped rocks on seven vehicles, five of them taxis, but Raz was the only one injured. A witness led cops to the suspects, who were caught hiding behind an SUV near the overpass; they're to be arraigned as adults on felony assault and reckless endangerment charges.
A police source says, "They were aiming for the cars, like target practice, and didn't care who they hurt." Raz's frightened children are now begging her to take them back home, and she may cut her vacation short and return to Israel before her July 20th departure. She says, "Listen, I love New York, but this changed something for me. I'm scared stiff right now."
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Kids will be kids.
She's an Israeli soldier and a couple kids chucking rocks scare her stiff? What does she do in the heat of battle?
Maybe it's precisely because she's not in the heat of battle. You expect something like that if you're in body armor and a military vehicle, but not while driving down what's supposedly one of the safest big cities in the US.
Sixteen and fifteen? Hardly children at that age. Looks like they're going to get way more than a spanking.
Someone should throw those two kids off an overpass. What a couple of psychos.
little bastards, kids today suck. if they are not IM'ing, texting, or playing Grand Theft Auto they can't figure out what to do in the real world.
"huh-huh, hey beavis let's go throw some rocks at cars, huh-huh, huh-huh, huh-huh, etc."
Hang 'em!
Send the kids to Israel.
The Post's picture of the rock—it does not look like a rock, it looks like a chunk of concrete with rocks embedded in it!
WTF!!!! The kids should have the book thrown at them, what if someone was killed? One could easily imagine this.
Little shits. When I was little I used eggs, not rocks. Eggs are more fun.
But it wasn't really because she was Israeli now was it? She should get over it. On behalf of all of New York, sorry, our bad. We have stupid kids.
superfluous information regarding the israeli soldier thing..way to sensationalize gothamist!
Ditto!
who gives a crap wether it was a soldier or a jew?? it could've been anyone
this is true, but it is the fact that she IS a soldier and serves her country selflessly that makes it so bothersome. soldiers are the reason Israelis or any other country's citizens are able to walk around free.
*gets off patriotic soapbox and mentally prepares for Gothamist retorts*
superfluous information regarding the israeli soldier thing..way to sensationalize gothamist!
I don't know dudes... the tone of this article implies that the victim was targeted because they were an Israeli Soldier. The reality is that it could have been anyone in that cab, but it HAPPENED to be an Israeli soldier. The implication that this is some sort of anti-Semitic hate crime is kind of not right
I don't get that at all. It was an Israeli soldier on vacation, facts are facts.
BTW, what the hell ever happened to just spitting lugies from the overpass? Sweet jebus, dropping chunks of reinforced concrete onto cars? What the FUCK? And they can't be sociopaths because they were hiding demonstrating they full well KNEW that what they were doing was wrong.
just like the LI teens who threw a frozen turkey on an overpass. that woman was seriously injured.
Agree with BoogieDown. The title of the article is very overblown and misleading.
They should have borrowed a car and run over some people after driving down the sidewalk. Apparently running people over on the sidewalk is permissible here.
I think the Israeli soldier angle was JDS's snarky way of pointing out that driving on the FDR is more dangerous than driving in a highly volatile combat area. Or something.
Ahh, Del Signore and his wittier-than-thou hipster irony...
It has a lot to do with the rock.
They should put these kids on the road, and dump a car off the overpass right on top of them. Or sentence them to a life of community service.
i would vote for any politician to impose mandatory abortion laws like China. The type of people who produce kids like these do not need to breed anymore.
20 comments and not one single anti-semetic, anti-Israel, and nothing about moral equivalency... Where the hell are you Felix - on vacation or something? Maybe this doesn't strike a nerve with him as it's really only about Jews getting hurt and not animals...
your obsession with me is freaky. Get a date.
your obsession with me is freaky. Get a date.
NY Post Witness Vivian Delgado hear them say anti-semitic remarks as they threw this rock.
Haha.
There it is.
Hehe. Good one.
Yeah...teens did not throw rock at Israeli soldier.
Teens dropped rock on cars on the FDR.
Even the Post headline "ISRAELI ARMY OFFICER HIT BY ROCK ON FDR" makes more sense.
WOOOSH
The headline is in reference to the fact that Israeli soldiers are faced with rock throwing teens when in combat, NOT when vacationing in NYC.
Yeah...i get it. Let's be honest. It's a poor play on words and misleading. Why am i even caring? This is the Gothamist!
I generally support attacks on Israeli soldiers but these kids are just punks.
You piece of shit coward, breaknight. you generally support attacks on israeli soldiers? They are as much kids as any college student, except they have to defend their country, the one and only nation on the planet for jews to live unpersecuted. Sounds like you are really a worthless asshole, or simply an uneducated and misled fool.
hmm...breaknight...sounds kinda like kristallnacht...
i support attacks on you.
I feel that as long as they are occupied by an oppressive regime, the Palestinian people have a right to attack military arm of said regime. Blame the Israeli govt. for forcing everyone into military service.
I don't condone terrorist attacks on civilians, but attacks on uniformed military personnel are "all in the game".
This, of course, has nothing to do w/ punk kids dropping rocks onto the FDR.
Guess what? The ONLY oppressive regime occupying Gaza is Hamas. As for the West Bank, the only thing keeping Hamas out is Israel. Recognize Israel, end violence as a tool, and you will see that Israel isn't the obstacle, it is the radical elements in the Palestinian society.
That being said, yes, it has nothing to do with this story.
I don't know, I feel pretty unpersecuted here in the US. I don't have to check off the "Jew" box when I file my taxes, it's illegal to discriminate against me in jobs and housing etc., and the Constitution protects my right to freedom of religion. And oh yeah, the government doesn't force me into the military either.
Her kids were in the back seat, too? If that rock had hit a child it surely would be fatal if not brain damageing.
If the rock hit the kid on the head, maybe, but what if the rock went through the roof and hit the kid's foot? How would that be brain "damageing" or fatal?
These aren't the first psychopaths to do this, and people have been killed (including a pregant woman in one case). I'm sympathetic to the idea that kids do stupid, poorly-thought-out things without grasping the consequences. But when your stupidity threatens to take random peoples' lives -- when you're stupidly almost murdering someone -- then you're not "kids being kids." There's a line that you can't cross and still blame childish stupidity...and this is way over that line.
nowadays, kids are nowhere near as "bad" as they used to be. all they do is stay inside on the computer...
lesson learned, do not sit in the front seat of the cab when you don't have to. (there were only 2 kids in the back, correct?)
Where's the NYCLU?
oy vey!
That is a pretty inflammatory headline by Gothamist...however the Post article is titled ""ISRAELI ARMY OFFICER HIT BY ROCK ON FDR". I thought at first they were targeted by the teens. What fucking scumbags...the kids...not Gothamist.
This is sick, sociopathic behavior. Punishment isn't enough, there has to be some serious intrusion into their lives to see what went wrong and get them away from what is probably a horrid home life. When a 6 year old throws things at cars, it's confused play; when a 16 year old throws concrete chunks off overpasses, it's next year's death row candidate crying for attention.
Scumbags.
"They're nice boys!" says mom.
More like, "huh? I have kids?" says mom.
If she's scared stiff from this incident, I wonder what her response would be if they threw white phosphorous at her.
Yeah! I mean if she's this scared now imagine how scared she would be if they suicide bombed her wedding
Or if they kidnap her brothers and other family members (including children under the age of 10). Or fire DIME explosives upon her and her family. Or demolish her house, deny her basic human rights, force her to live under military occupation, regularly beat and detain her family, not allow medicine or food to get to her and her family, and commit countless other atrocities against her.
Oh wait, she is a chosen one. Nevermind.
"Or if they kidnap her brothers and other family members..."
Like Gilad Shalit?
"regularly beat and detain her family..."
Like Hamas does to Palestinian civilians they suspect of "collaborating" with Israel?
Oh wait, I'm making sense. Nevermind.
How many Israeli Prisoners are there? And how many Palestinian prisoners are there? I'd love to see you generate that list, including names. Because as far as I know, you just completed the Israeli one.
One Israeli prisoner (who was, incidentally, a Soldier) in no way negates the thousands of Palestinian ones (the majority of whom are uncharged civilians, including children).
Additionally, just because Hamas commits crimes against their own people and Israelis does not give Israel the right to commit crimes against the Palestinians. I'm sick of the Israeli government and apologists like yourself who turn a blind eye to the enormous list of Israeli oppression and criminal acts against Palestinians by redirecting the focus to Hamas. Sorry, it doesn't work that way. Hamas are terrorists. And the State of Israel even more so. Apartheid, racism, categorical and systematic oppression can only be propogandized for so long. It's time for you to deal with reality, because the world is catching on.
"One Israeli prisoner (who was, incidentally, a Soldier)"
He was off duty. And he's not a prisoner -- he's a hostage. The way you blindly equate the two speaks volumes.
"Hamas are terrorists."
Interesting you feel that way; they're also the democratically elected government chosen by the large majority of the Palestinian people. Sorry, but a nation gets the government it deserves. Just ask all us Americans who had to suffer under the B.S. of the Bush admin. for the last eight years. (And I'm not even convinced he didn't steal the election, I sure as hell didn't vote for him.)
"I'm sick of the Israeli government and apologists like yourself"
If by "apologist" you mean someone who actually knows the facts well enough to understand that both sides in the conflict have legitimate grievances, then guilty as charged.
But if a similar situation happened to a Palestinian family on the FDR, I would never be such a callous douchebag as to say "karma's a bitch"
"And he's not a prisoner -- he's a hostage"
To many Israelis he's a hostage. To Palestinians, he's a prisoner of war precisely because he contributed, as an IOF soldier, to the atrocities committed against the Palestinians. The term 'hostage' is simply another way to elicit sympathy for him, whereas I should note that all the Palestinian civilians captured by Israeli troops are never considered 'hostages' to Israelis. They're 'terrorists' (even the children). I urge you to do a search for 'Gilad Shalit Prisoner,' and you will see even many israeli press call him a prisoner. I'm not alone. It's semantics, and in this battle, you lose.
And, just because a government is democratically elected doesn't mean they are not run by terrorists. Israel is a perfect example. I also agree that bush and Cheney should be included in that category, as well as numerous other governments across the globe. It says a lot about you that you can defend and sanitize the egregiously horrid actions of the Israeli government without so much as an indication that they may, as well as the IOF forces, commit acts of terrorism and crimes against humanity. The evidence is overwhelming, so to deny it is to ignore reality. I, on the other hand, am happy to criticize middle eastern states across the world, whether they be Israel, Iran, Iraq (my birthplace), Syria, or any other one. I don't limit critical thought based on race or religion. That's where you and I differ.
You need to look up the term 'apologist' in the dictionary. It certainly does not refer to people who speak the truth. In fact, it is quite the opposite.
"To Palestinians, he's a prisoner of war"
Oho! So you admit there is a war? And is a country not allowed to take whatever steps necessary to defend itself, in a time of war? Except when it comes to Israel it's automatically "oppresion"?
"The term 'hostage' is simply another way to elicit sympathy for him, whereas I should note that all the Palestinian civilians captured by Israeli troops are never considered 'hostages' to Israelis."
OK, let's figure go over this one together, nice and slow. Stop me when I start to lose you.
The Israeli government is currently trying to negotiate Shalit's return with Hamas, who's demanding the release of thousands of prisoners, some of whom are known terrorists who freely admit to murdering Israeli civilians. (These prisoners are currently alive, BTW, because Israel does not have the death penalty, for anyone.)
On the other hand, the only "demands" Israel makes of Hamas, et al is to recognize its right to exist and leave it the fuck alone (i.e., stop firing rockets over internationally recognized borders, clearly an act of war.)
"I urge you to do a search for 'Gilad Shalit Prisoner,' and you will see even many israeli press call him a prisoner. I'm not alone."
The UN (certainly no apologist for Israel) and the majority of countries around the world refer to Shalit as a hostage and are calling for his immediate release. No similar efforts have been made on behalf of the aforementioned convicted criminals in Israeli prisons.
"And, just because a government is democratically elected doesn't mean they are not run by terrorists"
So a country should just sit back and let themselves be bombed out of existence, because that's democracy? By your reasoning the Palestinians should just sit back and accept their situation. Unlike you, I can see and be sympathetic their side of the conflict, I just don't make stupid generalizations and conflate douchebag remarks with logic and understanding. I also know that Israel has a legitimate complaint as well.
"It says a lot about you that you can defend and sanitize the egregiously horrid actions of the Israeli government"
LOL I did nothing of the sort. I simply pointed out how ridiculous you are to conflate arresting terror suspects with "kidnapping." Talk about propagandizing!
"I don't limit critical thought based on race or religion. That's where you and I differ."
Hello, do you know my race? My religion? You don't know jack shit, you just blow smoke out of your ass with talking points from A.N.S.W.E.R. and think that makes you sound intelligent. You have the mind of Ann Coulter, just your politics are different.
Careful there, farleft. The planet we live on is round. Swing too far to the left and you'll end up on the right.
"So you admit there is a war?"
Why is this controversial? And what makes you think Palestinians don't have a right to defend themselves? They're the victims in this conflict. They're the ones living under occupation by an usurping entity. If a Palestinian kills an Israel it's categorized as terrorism. If an Israeli kills a Palestinian, it's considered self defense. The double standards and racism in this are completely deplorable.
"The Israeli government is currently trying to negotiate Shalit's return with Hamas, who's demanding the release of thousands of prisoners, some of whom are known terrorists who freely admit to murdering Israeli civilians. (These prisoners are currently alive, BTW, because Israel does not have the death penalty, for anyone.)"
You're kidding, right? Israel regularly tortures it's Palestinian prisoners, it kidnaps and locks up innocent women and kids, it does so without evidence, and it does not press charges or try these prisoners in open courts. And you're proud that they don't have the death penalty? As if the thousands of civilian deaths committed by the IOF is not a death penalty.
"On the other hand, the only "demands" Israel makes of Hamas, et al is to recognize its right to exist and leave it the fuck alone (i.e., stop firing rockets over internationally recognized borders, clearly an act of war.)"
Is that really the only demands by Israel? What about the demand that Palestinians recognize Israel as an exclusively Jewish state? Can you possibly defend this racist condition for peace? What other country in the world is considered an exclusive state for one particular race? Give me a break. And for you to claim that the rockets are being fired over internationally recognized borders is hilarious. Israel currently occupies Palestinian land and has expanded well beyond even the '67 borders. The UN and international community does not recognize this land grab. So you are way off on this point.
"Hello, do you know my race? My religion? You don't know jack shit, you just blow smoke out of your ass with talking points from A.N.S.W.E.R. and think that makes you sound intelligent. You have the mind of Ann Coulter, just your politics are different."
Again, I care less about your race or religion. I called you an apologist for Israel, and I stand by that assertion. There are apologists for Israel from all races and religions, including Christians and Muslims. If anything, you're making assumptions about me and where I get my news from, as if A.N.S.W.E.R. is some leftist mouthpiece that I reference.
"Careful there, farleft. The planet we live on is round. Swing too far to the left and you'll end up on the right."
This is one of the stupidest phrases I've ever heard. Progress (whether it be for racial equality, gender equality, sexual orientation, environmental progress, etc etc) has always come from the left. Your statement implies that support for Palestinian human rights is akin to extremism. Sorry, but it is quite the opposite. When you support the right of a nation to brutally occupy another, and justify it through religious ideology, that is where extremism emerges.
(reply @ end of thread)
A high school classmate of mine was killed a year after graduation in a similar incident - large rock thrown off an overpass into her windshield. They never caught the person(s) who did it. This kind of "prank" really isn't so funny.
I agree, not a funny 'prank' at all. But Karma is a bitch.
Wow, that is such a genuinely scummy thing you say. You really are a despicable human being, way to go
Huh?
I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure he's not saying that the friend got hit because her karma was bad...that's a pretty far-out reading of the comment.
Rather, what he's saying is that while the people who did it were not caught, karma is a bitch...so they'll get theirs eventually -- even if it's not until they're pulling a three-way with Satan and Saddam in hell.
Bunch of pricks without nothing else to do.
Misleading headline. They didn't throw a rock at an Israeli soldier, they threw a rock at a taxi that happened to be carrying an Israeli soldier.
Maybe they should give her and the kids a bag of goodies, like the frenchies who had the terror ride from hell and that should make it all better, no?
She and her family should have been riding bicycles around town...
It's all because society says we can't spank our kids anymore. They grow up not knowing the meaning of fear and pain, just their mothers' nasally voices, "Justin, stop that; don't do that anymore Justin; put the rock down Justin or I'll count to three..."
I've seen certain black parents who hit their kids for no good reason. Maybe the kid is giggling too much or is too talkative. Or verbally abuse them with "you so stupid". The parents are like "see, I know how to discipline my kids"; while everyone else in the subway car is thinking "what psychopaths!".
Why is the bigoted liberal media (that's you, Gothamist) implying that this is an anti-semitic act of hate? Kids are always throwing crap off a bridge, they do it for kicks cause they're bored, it's unlikely they knew who was riding in the car when the stones hit.
Once again the media tries to create the news by inciting racial hysteria.
And if the lady solider is so traumatized and terrified of NYC because of a kids' prank maybe she should find another line of work?
Didn't something similar happen when a tourist from T.O. get mugged and vowed to never return to New York and Fox5 gave her the star treatment all the while taking place during the 2003 Blackout. I don't know how I remember these things but I forget where I put a large yellow book a week ago. sigh.
"And for you to claim that the rockets are being fired over internationally recognized borders is hilarious. Israel currently occupies Palestinian land and has expanded well beyond even the '67 borders. The UN and international community does not recognize this land grab. So you are way off on this point."
WOW. For someone who claims to know about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and to have been born in the Middle East, you know precious little about the geography. Sderot, the village which has suffered the greatest casualties and civilian deaths from Qassam rockets fired by Hamas, is well with in the '67 borders, AKA the Green Line, also known as the internationally recognized borders of Israel proper.
I'd take you to task on your other points, but the more you write the more obvious it becomes that you're full of shit and really know absolutely nothing about what you're talking about. Which is a shame, because if it's one thing both the Palestinians and the Israelis need, it's cool, level-headed people who actually know what they're talking about and are serious about finding a peaceful and fair resolution to the conflict.
Oh well. Enjoy ranting like a lunatic over on the far left. True progress was only ever achieved when people acted with humility, wisdom and intelligence. Too bad you have none of that.
Not that I really care to get into a history or geographical debate with someone online whom I don't know, nor care about, but the entire State of Israel, or what you call Israel Proper, is occupied Palestinian land. Now, before you interpret this as a "wipe israel off the map" scenario, I'll let you know that I support a one state solution whereby all people, jewish, arab, etc live there with equal governmental representation. It is the only solution which in rooted in democracy, equality, and justice. At this point, the "wipe Palestine off the map" scenario has been the modus operandi ever since the creation of the State of Israel, and it's time call a spade a spade. Let the Jews stay, as well as the Palestinians. And in order for that to occur, the State of Israel must dissolve to include palestinians. It's about time people discuss this scenario, because that is really the only way justice and peace is possible.
The only correct thing you wrote is that there is no need to continue this debate. We obviously don't agree, never will, and we furthermore don't need to. So, with that, I say good riddance.
I think it's called karma, so too freaking bad.