Sixth Defendant Indicted for 2021 Attack on Jew in Times Square

By Reuvain Borchardt

NEW YORK — A sixth defendant has been indicted on hate-crime charges for the antisemitic assault on a Jewish man near a pro-Israel rally in 2021 that left the victim with a concussion, lasting injuries and feeling he was “going to die.”

Salem Seleiman, 28, of Tampa, was indicted on four felony charges: second-degree assault as a hate crime, first-degree attempted gang assault, second-degree attempted assault as a hate crime, and third-degree assault as a hate crime. He was arraigned Thursday in Manhattan Criminal Court and bail was set at $50K Cash/$100K Insurance Company Bond/$150K Partially Secured Surety Bond.

The other five defendants have all pleaded guilty and been sentenced to prison.

“As alleged, Salem Seleiman disrupted a peaceful pro-Israel rally when he participated in a brutal antisemitic attack on a Jewish man,” said District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in announcing the indictment. “Seleiman’s alleged conduct was abhorrent and many of the other individuals who joined him have already been convicted and are serving state prison sentences. Violently assaulting someone because of their religion is unacceptable, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners, community groups and local leaders to address attacks on the Jewish community.”    

The incident occurred on May 20, 2021, near a pro-Israel rally in Times Square, during the last Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The 27-year-old victim, Joseph Borgen, was wearing a yarmulke but no Israel paraphernalia as he exited the subway at the Times Square station and was headed to the rally when he was set upon by a group of Arab assailants, who yelled, “Dirty Jew,” “Filthy Jew,” “Hamas is going to kill you,” and, “Go back to Israel,” as they struck him and sprayed him with pepper spray. 

After bystanders attempted to intervene and protect Borgen, Seleiman allegedly urged the bystanders to leave. Then, while Borgen was still on the ground, Seleiman kicked him in the face. 

“I was holding on for dear life, I was in a fetal position, doing anything possible to make it out alive,” Borgen said, in described the assault at a previous court hearing. “I thought I was potentially going to die … and not see my family again.”

Borgen suffered a concussion, and has had lasting damage to his wrist – for which he has undergone one surgery and will require a second – as well as other physical injuries and emotional trauma.

Seleiman was arrested last month in Florida and extradited to Manhattan.

According to the website Canary Mission, which exposes and “documents individuals and organizations that promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews,” Suleiman, like his alleged fellow assailants, is affiliated with the anti-Israel group Within Our Lifetime. Canary Mission says Seleiman participated in multiple pro-Palestinian rallies during in May 2021, including some that were violent, and a day after punching a pro-Israel man in the face, Seleiman posted a video of the incident and wrote, “Every punch felt better than the last.”

Seleiman’s attorney, Toni Messina, declined Hamodia’s request for comment.

Borgen told Hamodia he believes the pursuit of his attackers by the District Attorney’s Office “sends a strong message that antisemitic crimes, or any hate crimes for that matter, will not be ignored.” But he said that “other cases right now are not being taken seriously enough,” citing the DA’s dropping charges against most of the anti-Israel demonstrators arrested in April at Columbia University.

“I think it’s important that we continue to fight for justice,” Borgen said.

The other five adults arrested for the assault on Borgen have all pleaded guilty and been sentenced to prison.

Mohammed Said Othman pleaded guilty to one count of attempted gang assault in the second degree and one count of assault in the third degree as a hate crime, and was sentenced to three years in prison followed by three years post-release supervision for the first charge and 1-1/3 to four years in prison for the second, to run concurrently.

Mahmoud Musa pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree assault as a hate crime and was sentenced to seven years in prison plus five years probation.

Another defendant named Mohammed Othman pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree assault as a hate crime, and was sentenced to 5 ½ years in prison followed by five years probation.

Waseem Awawdeh pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted assault as a hate crime, and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and was sentenced to 364 days in prison for the first offense and six months for the second, to be served consecutively, for a total of 18 months.

Faisal Elezzi pleaded guilty to third-degree attempted assault as a hate crime, for a promised sentence of three years’ probation with required compliance with anti-bias programming, but after subsequently being arrested on a marijuana charge in violation of his plea agreement, he was sentenced to 60 days in jail, concurrent with the three-year probation period.

The case of a seventh defendant, a juvenile at the time of the assault, is being handled in Family Court. A spokesperson for the court would not provide Hamodia with the disposition of that case.

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rborchardt@hamodia.com