'They simply hate Jews'

Five young men yelled 'heil Hitler,' rabbi says, notes that passersby did not intervene

Anti-Semitic attack: The rabbi of the Jewish community in Vinnitsa, Ukraine and his three-year-old son were assaulted Thursday by a group of anti-Semites. The rabbi, Shaul Horowitz, told Ynet he filed a complaint with local police, who arrested several suspects.

The rabbi said about 200 guests were on hand to celebrate his son's birthday. At one point, the rabbi and his son accompanied a guest from Canada who wanted to buy a calling card in a nearby store.

"We were walking, with my friend dressed in Hassidic garb, when suddenly we heard hateful chants. A group of young men were yelling "heil Hitler" and "we'll kill the Jews." About five youngsters ran in our direction, bypassed us, and started yelling and pushing us," the rabbi said. "I tried to protect my son, but the small child was punched in the face. They also kicked the guest from Canada."

'They simply hate Jews'

Rabbi Horowitz added that many passersby in the area refrained from interfering. Fortunately, a motorist who happened to be in the area picked them up in his jeep.

'We then saw the police so we ran over and filed a complaint. They immediately arrested the youngsters. We're not talking about drunken people who didn't know what they were doing, but rather, guys who looked normative," the rabbi said. "They simply hate Jews. It ended well just because of those people in the jeep who saved us. We've been living here for six years and this is the first time it happened.

The attack victims were taken for tests at a local hospital and later released. The town's mayor contacted the rabbi and promised to treat the incident sternly. The Jewish community in town numbers roughly 4,000 people

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3595867,00.html