Pro-Palestinian protestor assaults Jewish leader after Nets-Maccabi Tel Aviv game

Fans verbally sparred inside the arena as the game was ending.

By JTA
A team picture of Maccabi Tel Aviv's basketball team. (photo credit: ADI AVISHAI)
A team picture of Maccabi Tel Aviv's basketball team.
(photo credit: ADI AVISHAI)
NEW YORK – Leonard Petlakh, the executive director of the Kings Bay Y in Brooklyn, was attacked by a pro-Palestinian protester following the exhibition basketball game between the NBA’s Nets and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Petlakh said he required eight stitches and his nose was broken after being punched on Wednesday while exiting the Barclays Center arena following the Nets’ 111-94 victory.
Fans verbally sparred inside the arena as the game was ending when pro-Palestinian protesters began shouting slogans and a pro-Israel fan grabbed a Palestinian flag from one of the protesters, according to Petlakh.
As the crowds spilled out of the arena and onto the street, one of the protesters took a swing at Petlakh, who was with his 14- and 10-year-old sons. The assailant ran away and Petlakh sought medical care. He reported the incident to the police, who are investigating the attack as a hate crime.