Who would’ve thought that a simple holiday greeting could get a person bashed up! But there’s still hope, thanks to people who still believe that humanity comes first!
An incident of Brooklyn narrates that a man had simply wished “Happy Hanukkah” to a random group of people when this greeting landed him in the hospital at the hands of a gang of Antisemitic goons aboard a packed train. He could’ve even lost his life in the scuffle if it wasn’t for a modest Muslim from Bangladesh, a complete stranger, who came to his rescue.
It all began when Adler, his girlfriend, Maria Parsheva, and two other pals boarded the subway at Canal Street bound for Brooklyn and someone in another group wished them “Merry Christmas.” Adler and his pal Angelica Krischanovich responded: “Happy Hanukkah.” Just at that instant it all began and so soon, that all they could realize was that whatever is coming next is not going to be good! The group of about 14 men and women then allegedly began taunting Adler and his pals as “dirty Jews” and “Jew bitches.” Amid a huge scrum, Askari jumped in and got bashed up too. He pulled the emergency brake right before entering the DeKalb Avenue station.
Walter Adler, a 23 years honors student at Hunter College, was touched when Hassan Askari who is studying to be an accountant, jumped to his aid. He recalls, “A random Muslim guy jumped in and helped me, a Jewish guy on Hanukkah – that’s a miracle,” said Adler, “He’s basically a hero. Hassan jumped in to help us despite of being a stranger.” Modest Askari shrugged off the praises, “I just did what I had to do,” he claimed. “My parents raised me that way.”
Later, Police came aboard and arrested 10 people, charging six with assault and four with unlawful assembly. Ten people were arrested in the underground attack on Friday night – including two men who have been arrested for race crimes before. None of the suspects had been charged with a hate crime in the Q train attack as of last night, but the Brooklyn DA’s Civil Rights Bureau is handling the case.
Later, Adler invited his new found friend over to celebrate the Festival of Lights.
The two new pals – the victim with a broken nose and a swollen lip, and the saviour, with two black eyes – had meal together and laughed off the bruises and the night of futile fisticuffs. But, alls well that ends well. And such incidents are a proof that humanity is all but lost! There’s still hope for love, friendship and bonding despite of differences, if only we try!
Dr Aafreen Kotadiya
MGM University
