An antisemitic man who pleaded guilty to “participating in a conspiracy to commit hate-crime acts” is urging a judge to sentence him leniently due to other antisemites being let off the hook with light punishments.
Saadah Masoud, 29, who is slated to be sentenced on March 3, has engaged in “repeated physical attacks of Jewish victims in New York City between 2021 and 2022,” according to the U.S. Justice Department. The department added that the victims wore clothing that depicted the Israeli flag, a yarmulke and a Star of David necklace.
The “agreed upon” sentence guidelines for Masoud’s crimes range from 18 to 24 months in prison. But Masoud’s lawyers are requesting the same plea deal—six months in prison—received by Waseem Awawdeh, a fellow member of the anti-Israel group Within Our Lifetime, according to the antisemitism watchdog Canary Mission.
“Six months’ imprisonment will importantly avoid creating large sentencing disparities between that imposed in the case against Mr. Masoud and that imposed in similar state prosecutions currently pending,” his lawyers wrote to the judge.
They specified “Waseem Awawdeh,” who is “facing charges stemming from the same Times Square May 20, 2021 incident.”
Canary Mission stated in a release that it is “unconscionable” that Masoud’s lawyers would use the previous “outrageously lenient plea bargain, which amounts to a slap on the wrist of a violent antisemitic attacker,” seeking to get a short sentence for their client.
“It is up to the city of New York to decide if they will continue to let dangerous anti-Semitic assailants off with a mere slap on the wrist while new assaults occur almost daily,” it added.
