Hasidic protest breaks out after arrest in New York

Joel Herskovitz thought the police's response “was definitely overkill."

OCTOBER 9, 2018 00:57

Updated: OCTOBER 9, 2018 01:29

A JEWISH FAMILY walks in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on Yom Kippur. (photo credit: SHANNON STAPLETON / REUTERS) — A JEWISH FAMILY walks in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on Yom Kippur.

(photo credit: SHANNON STAPLETON / REUTERS)

During a Torah procession in Borough Park, a Hasidic man was arrested for blocking a cop car, leading to members of his community to chant "Nazi" at the officers on Sunday, the New York Post reported.

“They shouldn’t have done anything,” Joel Herskovitz, the man arrested, said. “I was just walking peacefully with the crowd. [A cop] just pushed me from behind. I just turned around and said, ‘Don’t push me,’ and just walked on.

“They came to ruin a peaceful celebration.”

The police said that Herskovitz, 38, was purposefully blocking a police car that was trying to disperse the crowd, the report noted. There was a large gathering because a Torah was donated to a local synagogue.

When the authorities went to arrest Herskovitz, he refused to comply and put his hands behind his back, the police said. The police began to struggle with him and the orthodox members of the parade in return yelled at the cops.

“Let him go! Let him go!” some shouted, another said, “You are instigating!”

Herskovitz thought the police's response “was definitely overkill."

A lieutenant was injured during the tussle, a high-ranking police source said.