NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A man tried to set fire to an Israeli American flag near the Yeshiva University campus in Upper Manhattan in what police are investigating as a suspected antisemitic hate crime.
The NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the incident on Feb. 24 at West 186th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Washington Heights.
According to police, a man attempted to torch a flag that included features of the Israeli and U.S. flags shortly before 3 p.m.
The flag was on display outside a business that's across the street from the Yeshiva University High School for Boys, a prep school adjacent to the university's main campus.
The man was unable to set fire to the flag and instead ripped it down, video shows. He then fled on Amsterdam Avenue in a black sedan, according to police, who said he's believed to be in his late teens or early 20s.
Video shows the suspect ripping down the flag in broad daylight.NYPD
The latest NYPD crime statistics released this week show antisemitic hate crimes in the city were up 31% in February compared to February 2023. About 60% of all hate crimes reported in the five boroughs last month were antisemitic, the data shows.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
