Third arrest in antisemitic Times Square attack on Lawrence man, cops say

A third man has been arrested for allegedly beating a Jewish Long Island man wearing a yarmulke in Times Square while the attackers shouted antisemitic slurs, according to the NYPD.

Mahmoud Musa was charged Tuesday with gang assault and assault as a hate crime in connection with the alleged attack May 20 on Joseph Borgen, 29, of Lawrence, who says the attackers also cursed Israel, hailed Hamas and pepper-sprayed him.

Borgen had been en route to a pro-Israel rally, and the alleged attack came as pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protesters clashed around the same time in the street nearby. That same day, Hamas and Israel agreed to a cease-fire, following an 11-day conflict.

Borgen, who has spoken publicly about the attack, was knocked to the ground near 1604 Broadway, punched, kicked, pepper-sprayed and struck with someone else’s crutches as the anti-Semitic remarks were made, an NYPD spokesman has previously said. Borgen was treated at Bellevue hospital and released.

Five or six men are believed to have committed the attack, the spokesman previously said.

In an interview the day after the attack, Borgen, who is Orthodox, told Newsday: "I took a bunch of kicks, a bunch of punches."

Musa was indicted Monday. At a court appearance Tuesday, he pleaded not guilty and was ordered jailed on $50,000 bond or $25,000 cash, according to court records, which say the bail hasn't been posted.

He is jailed on Rikers Island, according to the city Department of Correction inmate locator website. The case is due back in court Sept. 14, the court records show.

An attorney listed in court records for Musa, Raymond L. Loving, said Musa's family would bail him out Wednesday. Loving otherwise declined to comment.

Two alleged attackers were previously arrested.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.