Man Shouts 'Dirty Jew,' Shoves Woman On Subway In Chelsea

CHELSEA, NY — Police are investigating yet another hate crime that occurred in the NYC subway system: This time a man harassed passengers with an anti-semitic rant on a C train in Chelsea, police told Patch.

As soon as the man entered the train at the West 23rd Street station he began spewing anti-semitic phrases and praising Nazis, police told Patch. At one point the man, who was allegedly reading off a pamphlet, shouted "all hail the Hitler Youth," police said.

Then the attacks got physical.

The man got into an argument with a 25-year-old woman and started to shout in her face, police said. After calling the woman a "dirty jew" the man shoved her into a row of seats, police told Patch. The woman did not suffer any physical injuries, police said.

The suspect is described as being a white man with blonde hair, police told Patch. The NYPD hate crime task force is investigating the case and have not made any arrests, police said.

Hate crimes are on the rise throughout the United States, according to an FBI report released in November. Between 2014 and 2015 the recorded number of hate crimes rose 6.8 percent in the United States. Of the 7,121 victims of hate crimes in 2015, 59.2 percent were targeted by race, 19.7 percent were targeted by religion, 17.7 percent were targeted by sexual orientation, 1.7 percent were targeted by gender identity, 1.2 percent were targeted by disability and 0.4 percent were targeted by gender, according to FBI data.

Government officials in New York have taken steps to combat the rise in hate crimes. In November the five District Attorneys representing New York City penned a joint letter calling the rise of hate crimes "intolerable," and Gov. Andrew Cuomo established a hate crime hotline to make reporting the crimes easier.

To report hate crimes to the state hotline, call 1-888-392-3644.

Photo by Patch