On April 20, 2022, Matt Greenman, a Jewish man, was assaulted and beaten in an antisemitic hate crime in New York City while counterprotesting[1] a pro-Palestinian demonstration while wearing an Israeli flag as a cape.
The attack occurred amid elevated antisemitism and extremist violence in New York and elsewhere in the aftermath of the 2022 Al-Aqsa clashes and was seen as part of a surge of hate crimes prosecutions by the U.S. Department of Justice.
[2] According to court papers, Masoud had previously traveled to a pro-Israel rally in Manhattan in 2021, asked a man if he was Jewish, then punched him in the face.
[6] In a statement, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said that "Saadah Masoud deliberately targeted three victims because of their religion and nation of origin.
According to the Biden administration, the increase in federal hate crime prosecutions was part of a White House effort to counter bias-fueled violence.