Eric Zafra Grosso of Queens, N.Y., who was indicted on hate crime charges for allegedly assaulting a rabbi on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, is in custody after failing to appear in court, the Queens district attorney said earlier in the week.
The 32-year-old was arraigned on a grand jury indictment and charged with third-degree assault as a hate crime, assault and aggravated harassment.
Grosso allegedly approached Rabbi David Soussan in Forest Hills on Jan. 27 and shouted an antisemitic slur before punching him in the face and chest, knocking him to the ground. The incident occurred as the rabbi was walking to synagogue and wearing a “visible prayer shawl with fringes,” prosecutors said.
Melinda Katz, the Queens district attorney, called the attack unprovoked.
“The defendant is indicted on the charge of assault as a hate crime. As alleged, he yelled ‘F**k Jews’ before assaulting a rabbi completely unprovoked. He then did not show up for a mandated court appearance,” Katz said. “We asked for and obtained a warrant for his arrest. Thank you to the NYPD for apprehending this defendant, who now remains in custody.”
“Anti-Jewish bias still accounts for a significant share of hate crimes in our city, and my office will continue to take these cases with the utmost seriousness,” she said.
