SWC Applauds Proposed Sentences Sought by NYC DA Alvin Bragg Following Brutal and Violent Anti-Semitic Crime Against Joey Borgen

October 2, 2023

Borgen is now on a Road to Justice Following Sentencing Recommendations and One Perpetrator Being Immediately Sentenced

The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) praised the proposed three and a half to 15 year sentences sought by New York City District Attorney Alvin Bragg for two of the three perpetrators of a brutal and violent anti-Semitic hate crime that sent an innocent Jewish man, Joey Borgen, to the hospital with serious injuries. Of the three individuals who pled guilty, one of the perpetrators has already been sentenced to 3 years specifically.

“We hope the judge will use the DA’s suggestion as the baseline for sentencing of these violent Jew-haters. With anti-Semitic hate crimes on the rise in New York and across the US it is crucial that such criminals be held fully accountable for all hate crimes,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, SWC Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action and Michael Cohen, SWC Eastern Director.

“The real hero here is Joey Borgen, who refused to be a passive victim. We recall that he left his hospital bed to lead thousands of New York Jews who participated in our protest rally against violent anti-Semitism and has pursued justice utilizing the system. The SWC was proud to be there for him each step of the way, but this is his victory and we are all safer because of his tenacity and courage,” Cooper and Cohen concluded.   

The New York Post reported that “The melee began in the Diamond District when a pickup truck full of Palestinian flag-waiving protesters shot a firework from the vehicle into a crowd of Israeli activists who came out during renewed hostilities between the groups in the Middle East.”

Video of the fight went viral. Borgen, who was wearing a yarmulke, was pepper-sprayed by a pack of men as they hurled anti-Semitic slurs at him. He was left with a concussion, wrist injury, black eye and bruises all over his body.

For further information, please email Michele Alkin, Director of Global Communications at malkin@wiesenthal.com or Shawn Rodgers at srodgers@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human rights organization. It holds consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS, and the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO).