The Justice Department has charged a 20-year-old New York man with federal hate crimes for allegedly assaulting Jewish individuals at anti-Israel protests between 2024 and 2025.
Tarek Bazrouk was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with three counts of committing hate crimes for allegedly targeting and assaulting Jewish people at three separate New York City protests related to Israel’s war against Hamas.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, for the Southern District of New York, said that Bazrouk “allegedly remained undeterred and quickly returned to using violence” after each incident “[d]espite being arrested.”
“This office is dedicated to seeking justice for victims of hate crimes and will aggressively prosecute those who spread bigotry and discrimination through violence,” Clayton added.
According to the Department of Justice, the first incident occurred on April 15, 2024, when Bazrouk allegedly kicked a Jewish student in the stomach as he was being led to a police vehicle after being arrested at a protest outside the New York Stock Exchange. The DOJ said Bazrouk was wearing a green headband “typically worn by Hamas terrorists” at the time and was arrested for lunging at a group of pro-Israel protesters.
Then on Dec. 9, 2024, during a protest near a university in Upper Manhattan, Bazrouk allegedly assaulted another Jewish student, punching him in the face when the victim retrieved the Israeli flag Bazrouk allegedly stole from him.
In both instances, the first and second victims were wearing kippahs, or brimless skullcaps traditionally worn by Jewish men.
The last incident took place on Jan. 6, when Bazrouk allegedly committed his third assault on a Jewish individual when he “made contact” with the victim’s shoulder and wrapped his foot around the victim’s ankle. When the third victim attempted to push Bazrouk away and cursed at him, Bazrouk allegedly punched him in the nose “with a closed fist.”
Bazrouk was wearing a keffiyeh at this protest and the third victim was “wearing an Israeli flag around his shoulders, a hat with an Israeli flag, and a chain with a Jewish star.”
“As alleged, Tarek Bazrouk deliberately set out to harm Jewish New Yorkers — targeting them at protests, singling them out and assaulting them for nothing more than their identity,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement. “Antisemitism and all forms of bigotry have no home here in New York — period. New Yorkers of all faiths are welcome to live and worship in our city freely, and we will never stop fighting to protect that right.”
According to court documents, Bazrouk allegedly identified himself as a “Jew hater” in text messages and called Jewish people “worthless.” He was also allegedly happy to discover that family members overseas were part of Hamas.
Each hate crime charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, according to the DOJ.
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