A man of Jewish faith, identified as Izak Kadosh from Brooklyn, was recently apprehended and charged with attempt to murder and hate crimes. His acts were specifically aimed towards a Muslim neighbor, culminating a period of prolonged violence and harassment. The Brooklyn district attorney’s office has pressed more than 40 charges against Kadosh, including second-degree attempted murder, hate crime based second-degree attempted murder, first-degree hate-motivated assault, second-degree burglary, and burglary as a hate crime, as detailed in a legal complaint.
According to the filed complaint, Kadosh’s actions were motivated by religious and ethnic disparities he held against his neighbor. He was detained on Saturday, following allegations of a severe act of intrusion and destruction in his neighbor’s property. It was claimed that Kadosh trespassed into his neighbor’s living premises, causing havoc and destruction, and desecrated their Quran with feces.
In addition to vandalizing the property with paint and oil, Kadosh is also accused of physically assaulting his neighbor with a mallet to the head. The attack led the victim to require hospitalization, needing staples in his head and a chest tube inserted to address internal bleeding.
Kadosh entered a plea of not guilty when he was arraigned Monday in Kings County Criminal Court. The prosecution reported that bail was set at a $25,000 cash equivalent or a bond amounting to $125,000.
The victim, who was mentioned as Ahmed Chebira in the complaint, shared his experiences with The New York Times. Chebira related that the ordeal began not long after his move into the apartment complex in October. Attempting to peacefully coexist, Chebira expressed his plea to Kadosh: ‘I told him, leave me alone. Everyone has their own religion in America; I don’t have a problem with anyone.’
Chebira’s fears escalated to the point of concern that Kadosh could be waiting for him even outside the hospital following his discharge, after the mallet attack. However, he breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing news of Kadosh’s arrest.
The written complaint against Kadosh reports accusations dating back to early March. Some of his alleged abuses include ripping his neighbor’s car tires, pouring an unidentified white substance on his door, and physically assaulting him leading to significant harm. The attacks led to Chebira suffering fractured ribs and the suspect issuing repeated threats against his life.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul characterized the allegations against Kadosh as ‘despicable.’ She emphasized the importance of the sense of safety for all New York residents and pledged to stand up against Islamophobia and other similar hateful acts. Gov. Hochul also made her position clear through her comment: ‘Hate has no place in our state.’
Prejudice, especially based on religion and race like the antisemitic and Islamophobic attacks, has seen an uptick across the country in recent times. This appears to follow the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, which prompted a retaliatory war by Israel on Hamas in Gaza.
Alarming instances of hate crimes continue to occur. For instance, a 22-year-old man was arrested and charged for multiple hate crimes just this week. According to police reports, the young man shouted ‘Free Palestine’ before slashing a Jewish man near a synagogue in Brooklyn.