A New York City couple says that they were recently assaulted by a family shouting pro-Palestinian slogans at an elementary school graduation.
The New York Post published an exclusive interview with the couple, named Lana and Johan, on Saturday. Lana is Jewish, while her husband is Dominican-American and practices Catholicism.
The couple watched their 10-year-old twins graduate from P.S. 682 in Gravesend, Brooklyn, on June 14 before the assault occurred. Lana told the New York Post that the altercation began when she and her husband tried taking pictures with their children in front of a school banner, when the family of a boy with a pro-Palestinian graduate cap pushed them aside.
“We told them there was space for both families,” Lana said. “An older man turned to us and said ‘Free Palestine!’ for no reason.”
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“My husband told him this was not the time or place for that but the man cursed at him in Arabic, and shouted, “Free Palestine, Gaza is Ours, Death to Israel.”
Lana said that she believes the family targeted her because she is Jewish. When her husband defended his wife and children, another man “came out of nowhere” and punched him in the head.
Video obtained by the New York Post shows adults huddled around people fighting on the ground outside of the elementary school.
“From there, I don’t remember, because there was so much going on and so many people on top of me,” Johan described. “Then I was put in a chokehold. Somebody was holding my leg. It was chaotic.”
Lana recounted that when her 16-year-old son attempted to intervene, he was also punched in the face. She was also knocked to the ground by a woman who threatened her life.
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“A woman from the group came up from behind me, pulled me by the hair, and knocked me down on the ground, shouting, ‘I will kill you,’” she said.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) confirmed part of the incident to Fox News Digital. Authorities say that they arrested Ez-Al Dean Bazar, 26, and charged him with third-degree assault.
“[F]ollowing a verbal dispute, an individual punched a 43-year old male in the face and dragged him to the ground, causing injuries to his head and arm,” the NYPD spokesperson said. “EMS responded and the victim refused medical attention.”
“The NYPD Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the incidents,” police added.
Fox News reached out to the New York City Department of Education for a statement, but did not hear back.