Two Jewish teenagers targeted in latest Brooklyn assault

A gang of five men attacked two identifiably Jewish teens on the street in Brooklyn, which has seen a significant uptick in anti-Semitic violence in recent years.

The incident happened on November 11 in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn but was only reported by police on Wednesday, the New York Post reported.

The group approached a 14-year-old boy dressed in traditional Hasidic garb and smacked him in the head, knocking off his kippa. They then snatched the hat off the head of a second boy, aged 15.

The boys were not injured in the attack, according to police, who said that the incident is being investigated as a hate crime.

Anti-Semitic incidents in New York City have increased significantly this year, according to data from the New York Police Department. Through September, there have been 163 reported incidents, up from 108 over the same period last year — an increase of 50 percent. Anti-Semitic incidents make up a majority of reported hate crimes in New York City.

Recent incidents include the smashing of a synagogue’s windows during Rosh Hashanah prayers, a string of assaults in the Borough Park community of Brooklyn and the beating of a rabbi with a large rock.

In September, the Mayor’s Office announced that it had hired Deborah Lauter, a former ADL executive, to head its new Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes.