The cousin of a rescued Israeli hostage was focused in a stunning antisemitic assault at a Decrease East Aspect restaurant on Saturday — and continues to be rattled by the assault.
Josh Tepper — whose cousin, Luis Har, was free of his Hamas captors final yr — informed The Put up he was having an informal enterprise assembly at El Cabron Taqueria on Essex Avenue when one other patron all of the sudden poured a pitcher of water over his head and yelled, “Free Palestine.”
“It was a really stunning expertise,” Tepper stated Sunday. “I’ve lived in New York for 28 years, I’m from right here. I’m very proud to be Jewish, went to Jewish state faculty. By no means have I ever in that manner been accosted for being Jewish.”
“It was aggressive,” he stated. “It was jarring, it was upsetting.”
Tepper stated he was having a quiet dinner with enterprise companion Carlos Leon — a one-time beau of pop diva Madonna — when he was attacked “out of nowhere.”
The 2 based OG Daddy, which Tepper describes as “a way of life model and hashish model.”
He stated that at one level throughout their dinner dialog, he talked about that he needed to go to Tel Aviv — which was apparently sufficient to set off the antisemitic dousing.
“That isn’t a political assertion. I didn’t say I hate any group of individuals, I didn’t say what facet I’m on,” Tepper stated. “Actually out of nowhere this man took a pitcher — swear to God — and poured it on me, on the desk. My telephone was coated. And he stated ‘Free Palestine’ and he stated one thing else that I form of blocked out and he simply walked proper out.”
He stated Leon received as much as confront the alleged antisemite, however the “coward” scampered away.
Restaurant employees comped the 2 a drink and stated the assailant had grabbed the pitcher by telling staff that he was thirsty and simply needed to refill his glass — and dumped it on Tepper as a substitute.
He stated the incident caught him off guard, however concedes he’s needed to develop into extra vigilant amid heightened antisemitic sentiments within the Large Apple since Hamas’ sneak assault on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the retaliatory strikes by the Jewish State within the Gaza Strip.
“I’m all the time on alert as a result of I’m Jewish, particularly now. However this was to a brand new stage,” he stated. “It’s been like a yr and a half, nearly two years of issues simply progressively getting worse, and increasingly of my associates are having nuanced experiences like this.”
Har, his 71-year-old cousin, was rescued in February 2024 after 129 days as a Hamas prisoner, because of a daring raid by Israeli forces in southern Gaza.
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