Rabbi stabbed outside Boston synagogue in suspected hate crime

‘Hate crime is on the rise’, says local prosecutor

Rabbi Shlomo Noginsky (ABC5)

A 24-year-old suspect has been arrested after a rabbi was stabbed outside a synagogue in Brighton, Boston.

Rabbi Shlomo Noginski was stabbed multiple times outside the Shaloh House Jewish Day School in Brighton at around 1pm on Thursday, according to The Boston Herald.

The Boston Police Department said it was called to the Brighton area after reports of a man suffering multiple stab wounds.

The department said the man was transported to a local hospital where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

According to The Herald, Mr Noginski is a rabbi and teacher at the Chabad institution.

In the wake of the attack, Boston Police have arrested Khaled Awad of Brighton. The 24-year-old faces charges of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon and assault and battery on a police officer.

Meanwhile, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins has reportedly launched a civil rights investigation into the attack, according to WBUR.

At a community vigil in Brighton on Friday morning, Ms Rollins said anyone responsible for hate crime must be held responsible for their actions.

“It’s important that we recognize with respect to the Jewish community that not only globally, but locally, they are being terrorized and hate crime is on the rise,” Ms Rollins said, according to WBUR.

Jeremy Burton, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Boston, said the Jewish community “is angry” after the attack, which comes amid a rise in anti-Semitic attacks.

“The Jewish community is angry. And the Jewish community is united,” he said.

“At a time of rising violence and anti-Semitism across this country, no Jew, no building, no part of our community, no neighborhood will stand alone,” Mr Burton continued. “And we expect – we demand – that we have the right to live, to walk in the streets, to be visible or not visible as Jews, to gather together, to celebrate and to live our lives as Jews fully, with joy and without fear.”

Boston Police say the case “remains an active and ongoing investigation”. They have asked anyone with information to contact District D-14 detective at 617-343-4256.