Midtown tourist attacked: Rabbi from Jerusalem sucker punched during first visit to NYC
A rabbi from Jerusalem is speaking out following a frightening, unprovoked attack that happened during his first visit to New York City.
Like anyone in the Big Apple for the first time, Israeli tourist Rami Glikstein is stunned by the city's sheer scale.
"Everything is big here. I ask for a small coffee, and they give me the size that in Israel is extra large! Everything is big," Glikstein said.
Also big was the man who set upon him with no warning, delivering a punch to the face so powerful that it vaulted Glikstein to the ground.
It was a violent and unprovoked attack that started, Glikstein says, when the man approached, pointing at his yarmulke.
"And start to shout, 'hey, tell me what is your religion, tell me what is your religion,'" Glikstein said.
He ripped the yarmulke from his head, threw it on the street and spat on it, and then attacked Glikstein.
"It's not the pain. It's not the punch. It's the thought," he said. "That a Jewish man like me can't go safely in this lovely city."
Glikstein is a rabbi in Jerusalem, and a chaplain for the IDF. He's a father of seven, grandfather of 12 and son of a holocaust survivor.
"I don't realize that in New York, I think it's the next big city with full of Jewish people, that I will have this kind of thing," Glikstein said.
Police quickly responded, and at Mount Sinai Hospital, doctors determined he was bleeding on the brain. His nose is broken, but not his spirit.
"I will come back. I am not afraid," he said. "Most all the people in New York are very good people and I will be coming back," Glikstein said.
The attack happened at lunchtime on a very busy block of 38th Street, just a few blocks away from Times Square.
The assailant first started harassing Glikstein a few doors down but followed him, and then without provocation, sucker punched him in the face, sending him flying into the bike lane.
Police have made no arrests so far. The investigation is ongoing.
----------
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
