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Who is Waseem Awawdeh? Brooklyn man, 23, accused of beating Jewish man Joseph Borgen says ‘I would do it again’

Awawdeh allegedly used his crutches to beat Joseph Borgen during the assault, called him 'dirty Jew' and said 'F–k Israel, Hamas is going to kill all of you'

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: A community supporting Palestinians violently is suspected of beating a Jewish man named Joseph Borgen, 29, in Times Square, Manhattan on May 20, sparking a violent confrontation between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine supporters. The NYPD arrested Waseem Awawdeh as a suspect in the crime, but the hunt for six others continues, reported the Daily Mail.

Borgen was seen lying on the ground while a group of men continued to assault him in a video that has gone viral on social media. The incident occurred near West 49th Street on Broadway on Thursday, May 20. He said he was surrounded by a "whole crowd of people who proceeded to physically attack me, beat me, kick me, punch me, hit me with crutches, hit me with flag poles". Borgen was also blinded for several hours after the attackers pepper sprayed his eyes during the brutal assault.

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Who is Waseem Awawdeh?

Waseem Awawdeh, 23, is from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. He was led out of the 5th Precinct in handcuffs on Friday, May 21 wearing a black t-shirt with the word 'Palestine' emblazoned on the front, according to exclusive photos obtained by the Daily Mail.

Awawdeh allegedly used his crutches to beat Borgen during the assault, as per reports by ABC. He has been charged with aggravated harassment as a hate crime, gang violence, menacing, and unlawful possession of a weapon and is being held at Central Booking downtown.

'I would do it again'

“If I could do it again, I would do it again,” Awawdeh told one of his jailers, according to a prosecutor at Awawdeh’s May 22 arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court, reported the New York Post. “I have no problem doing it again.” 

He is being held on $10,000 bail in the Times Square assault in which he is accused of hitting, kicking Borgen with his crutches and pepper-spraying Borgen. Borgen was walking near Broadway and West 49th Street when Awawdeh "jumped him and attacked him," according to prosecutors, who told Judge Kathryn Paek that the assault was unprovoked.

The Manhattan assistant district attorney told Paek that the attack was a hate crime and that Awawdeh called Borgen a "dirty Jew" and said, "F–k Israel, Hamas is going to kill all of you." According to his counsel, April White-Small of New York County Defenders, Awawdeh is enrolled in college and is not a flight risk. Awawdeh did not plead guilty. 

Awawdeh's friends, who declined to give their names, said that Awawdeh was the one who was assaulted first. “They picked somebody that was weak, that was on crutches,” one of them said to The Post. 

Many run-ins with the law

According to investigators, Awawdeh has had many previous run-ins with the law. On November 8, 2020, he was arrested after almost hitting someone in Bay Ridge while driving a 2003 Infiniti, the NY Daily News reported. According to police, he was charged with reckless endangerment and resisting arrest, among other things.

He was pulled over for failure to signal about a month later, on December 12,2020, and cops discovered a switchblade and a pellet gun on him, according to police. He was charged with possessing firearms and given a desk appearance ticket. He was issued desk tickets for driving without a license twice in March and twice in April, according to police reports.

Protested with Bella Hadid

Model Bella Hadid, who is of Palestinian origins, posted a picture on her Instagram account earlier this week that featured Awawdeh holding the crutches he used to beat Borgen up. He is seen sitting atop a vehicle filled with flag-bearing protesters. It is unclear if the model knows Awawdeh.

"The way my heart feels.. To be around this many beautiful, smart, respectful, loving , kind and generous Palestinians all in one place... it feels whole ! We are a rare breed!! ❤️ It’s free Palestine til Palestine is free!!! P.s. The Palestinian drip is real 💧 #FreePalestine," she had captioned the post.

The StopAntiSemetism.org Twitter page responded by condemning Hadid. "Horrific - @bellahadid caught protesting with Waseem Awawdeh, the same man that was arrested for brutally assaulting an innocent Orthodox Jewish man in NYC last night! @MichaelKors @Dior @Versace @Bulgariofficial- we demand you cut all ties with this antisemite!", the page wrote.

The JewsofNY Facebook page echoed the anti-Semitism organization's concerns. "We hope she had no idea about the type of people who are around her and pray that she is just ignorant to how much hatred there is towards Jews. But this is exactly why she should’ve been so thoughtful when posting content that could lead to violent anti-Semitic hate crimes throughout the world," they wrote in a Facebook post.

"She did deleted [sic] the post that was claiming that Israel is not an actual country, she is absolutely entitled to her thoughts and opinions that stand with her people (again, believing she supports innocent Palestinians and not terrorists) and she did denounce anti-Semitism on her stories - but the terrible cat was already out of the bag, that’s social media - it travels fast! Will she delete this post too?", the post added.

Anyone with information on the four other suspects in the Midtown assault is requested to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS or go to the Crime Stoppers website.