It’s been over 48 hours since the antisemitic attack in New York that targeted a father and his son outside a local grocery store. But, according to the parent, 7-year-old Haim Klein is still unable to get over the ordeal that left his severely traumatized.
"Each time he shuts his eyes for a minute, he jumps up in panic," his father says. "My son is traumatized and refuses to be left alone, I begged him to come out, I promised to buy him ice-cream, but he refused to even step out of the car."
On Monday, the father, who wanted to spend some quality time with his young son, decided to take him along to the local grocery store and buy some candy. When the shopping was done, they walked hand in hand to return the shopping cart. There, they were both shot by a BB gun. Haim was scraped by a bullet on his ear, and the father was shot in the chest.
"He talks about the shooting all the time and asks questions that I cannot answer," the father says, adding the son fails to understand why it happened to them.
"He cannot understand what makes him different and I really don't know what to tell him. I don't want him to doubt God over this, but he asks difficult questions.
"We've consulted a couple of psychologists and they told us to highlight the positive, and tell him that because he did a mitzvah, he survived the attack. I try to teach him to be kind and loving of people. I don't want him to know that there are people out there who hate him. I will get over this but for him, this is a life changing event," the father says.
"I saw a car driving slowly across from us. A second later I heard the shots. I hardly felt the impact of the bullets because I was in a thick coat and did not realize what was happening, until I looked over at Haim and saw he was hurt in his ear. He was screaming and crying and was in total shock. It took me a second to process. There is no greater feeling of helplessness than to see your son in such a state without realizing what was going on or be able to help him," he says.
"Luckily a rabbi and member of the United Hatzalah was right there and he knew immediately what to do. He ran over to my son to treat him, called the police and the neighborhood guard, and took us to file a complaint."
The suspect in the shooting, Jason Kish, 25, was arrested after a police manhunt and now faces multiple charges, including assault as a hate crime and endangering the welfare of a child.
"It feels good to know that such a dangerous person was caught," the father says. "He has so much hate. He posted antisemitic remarks and photos on social media, showed pictures of himself, proudly displaying his guns. If he had fired a real gun at us, I would not be here speaking with you. Just thinking about it is traumatic. We are lucky and are getting a lot of support from Jewish organizations and the community," he says.
Klein says he had felt the rise in antisemitism, even before the shooting.
"I move around in different neighborhoods for my work and encounter more and more unpleasant incidents," he says. "I've never experienced physical violence, but people say terrible things to me on the streets. A man came up to me recently out of nowhere and said 'You are Jewish. You probably own this building and I want to kill you.' My wife also had a similar experience when a group of youths yelled 'f the Jews,' at her near our house," he says.
Klein says it is hard to connect the antisemitic incidents to just one person but adds that when you are a celebrity with many followers, it makes things worse.
"Of course, I heard about Kanye West," he says. "We all know him and what he said is not worthy of a response. All these expressions of hate are bad, but that kind of atmosphere existed before him - not just from African Americans and other minorities. Life here in America is not the paradise some on the outside believe it to be. We walk down the street fearing some random person will suddenly come up and stab us, or pull out a gun. This is madness but hatred of Jews exists everywhere and could even happen in Israel. Unfortunately, there is a lot of hate there. I visit often, I love Israel and hope on e day to buy an apartment there. I often think that is where I want to live, especially now," he says.
"We Jews have to learn to help each other, be united and strong and have each other's back. We have to teach our kids to love, regardless if you are a Hassid, modern-Orthodox or a Reform Jew. A Jew is a Jew. My father taught me that and I am teaching my kids. We are all in the same boat, no matter what we look like. We are Jews and there is hatred towards us," he says.
Last month, the New York police department reported 20 incidents of hate crime t Jews, four times more that any other group.
In total, since the beginning of the year, more than 195 antisemitic incidents were reported in the city, meaning one every 33 hours. They span from racist graffiti to damage to property, to verbal and physical attacks.
According to the FBI, 55% of all religious hate crimes in the U.S. were directed at Jews, who are only 2% of the population.
One in four American Jews was a target of antisemitism in the past year, and nearly four out of ten report a change in their behavior, out of fear that they will be recognized as Jewish.
In a press conference yesterday, New York Mayor Eric Adams said he was concerned that Haim will never walk down the street without remembering what had happened, and added that hate will not be allowed to run the city.
Adams said antisemitism was on the rise in the entire country, but most of all in New York where the largest Jewish community outside Israel is located.
"Hate spread on social media must be stopped and fought against," he said.