NYPD hate crime task force seeks woman who slapped pro-Palestinian man

Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Investigators with the New York Police Department's hate crime task force are seeking a woman who slapped a pro-Palestinian man during a protest march on Saturday.

The man was walking on the Brooklyn Bridge footpath when the woman, who has not been identified, approached "while making an anti-ethnic statement" and slapped the victim's face before fleeing the scene, police said in an emailed statement. The man refused medical attention at the scene.

According to the New York Daily News, the woman allegedly said "[expletive] Palestine" before slapping the man.

The woman, described as around 30 years old with brown eyes and long brown hair, is being sought for "aggravated harassment." She was last seen wearing a gray shirt, blue jeans, and sunglasses.

In a video obtained by the Daily News, the woman can be seen screaming and demanding that people around her delete recordings they had made.

"I saw her hitting the mother of the little girl ... physically grabbing her and pushing her around," said Ramzy Abdelaal, a 19-year-old protester from New Jersey.

"I then went and stood in front of her and then she grabbed my phone and started screaming at everyone to stop recording. She then got in our faces and then slapped my brother -- who is 15 years old."

The protesters had marched from the Brooklyn Museum before heading to the Barclays Center and then across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan.