JUSTICE for victim of antisemitic subway attack!

Dear friends,

As you may recall, in December 2019, The Lawfare Project partnered with attorney Ken Belkin to provide pro bono representation to Lihi Aharon, a Jewish-Israeli student who was violently assaulted on a New York City subway. After hearing her speaking Hebrew with a fellow Jewish passenger, the assailant physically attacked Lihi while shouting “f**king nasty ass Jew” among other vile antisemitic slurs, and left Lihi with a deep scar on her face.

Zarinah Ali (left) perpetrated the antisemitic, violent assault on Lihi Aharon (right) while Aharon was riding the subway home after a college induction ceremony.

Initially and inexplicably, the Manhattan District Attorney decided not to pursue a hate crime charge despite the assailant’s unquestionably antisemitic motivation. However, thanks to our efforts—which included liaising with the DA’s office and bringing widespread public attention to the case—the DA reversed course and presented the matter to the jury as a hate crime.

As Lihi recovered from her wounds and trauma, the prosecution of the assailant was repeatedly delayed due to the impact of Covid on the court system. Now, after two years of waiting, Lihi is finally seeing justice served. The DA has offered the assailant a plea to the misdemeanor charge of Attempted Assault as a Hate Crime. This means that the assailant will have a criminal conviction on her record, and will be forced to complete 26 sessions of anger management, bias training, and will waive her right to appeal. Additionally, Lihi will be granted a 5-year restraining order against her attacker—the longest legally allowed.

“We feel that this is a just outcome, as our client does not want her attacker to go to jail, but rather to face consequences for the obviously antisemitic attack,” said Mr. Belkin. “We believe that this will result in the defendant getting the help she needs to reform her life. We applaud the Manhattan DA's Office for treating this case with the gravity it deserves, and for taking a firm stand against antisemitic hate crimes in New York City.”

Thank you for helping us bring about robust enforcement of the law against Lihi’s attacker, and against violent acts of Jew-hatred wherever they occur.

Sincerely,

Brooke Goldstein
Executive Director
The Lawfare Project