Fifth man charged in hate crime attack on Jewish man from Lawrence

A fifth person has been charged in connection with the hate crime attack on a Lawrence man who was assaulted in May while walking to a pro-Israel rally in Times Square, New York police said Wednesday.

Mohammed Othman, 24, of Staten Island, was arrested and charged with first-degree gang assault, third-degree assault and second-degree reckless endangerment, all as hate crimes, police said.

Police said Othman took part in a May 20 attack on Joseph Borgen, 29, of Lawrence. Borgen, who is Jewish, has said he was punched, kicked, pepper-sprayed and struck with a pair of crutches while he was wearing a yarmulke.

The attackers cursed Israel, shouted antisemitic slurs, praised Hamas and knocked him to the ground, Borgen has said. The attack occurred hours after Israelis and the Palestinian militant group Hamas announced the end of an 11-day conflict.

Borgen was treated at NYC Health and Hospitals/Bellevue and released.

The attack on Borgen outside 1604 Broadway occurred amid clashes in Times Square between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian supporters, police have said.

Five or six people are believed to have committed the attack, the NYPD has said.

In addition to Othman, those arrested include:

Waseem Awawdeh, 23, of Brooklyn, who was charged on the day of the attack with assault, gang assault, menacing and aggravated harassment, all as hate crimes, and criminal possession of a weapon;

Faisal Elezzi, 25, of Staten Island, who was charged on May 25 with assault, menacing and aggravated harassment as hate crimes;

Mahmoud Musa, 23, of Staten Island, who was charged on June 8 with gang assault and assault as hate crimes;

And a 14-year-old boy who was charged on June 24 with assault, gang assault and menacing, all as hate crimes, and aggravated harassment, police said. The boy's name was not released.

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.