Around 7:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving, three thugs jumped Hasidic teacher Joel Weinberger as he left a yeshiva on Harrison Avenue in Williamsburg. The beating left him hospitalized for four days with his jaw wired shut and a broken leg. His assailants, who stole his cell phone, tore his clothing, destroyed religious paraphernalia, and yelled, "We hate you" before leaving Weinberger lying on the sidewalk "basically undressed on the scene," according to local activist Isaac Abraham. But despite interviewing Weinberger at his home yesterday, detectives with the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force have not yet classified the mugging as a bias attack.
"They rearranged his face, beating him beyond recognition," community leader Isaac Abraham tells the Daily News. And Weinberger's wife adds, "He can't talk. It's too traumatic." Local Council Member Steve Levin wrote a letter to Commissioner Ray Kelly urging the NYPD do all that they can to bring the attackers to justice, but no arrests have been made.
