A Queens man has been indicted on hate crime charges following a disturbing and unprovoked assault on a rabbi in Forest Hills earlier this year—an incident that occurred on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, underscoring ongoing concerns about rising antisemitism across New York City.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Eric Zafra Grosso, 32, of Corona, has been formally charged with assault as a hate crime, along with additional counts of third-degree assault and aggravated harassment.
According to prosecutors, the attack took place on the afternoon of January 27 at the busy intersection of Queens Boulevard and Yellowstone Boulevard. The victim, identified as 30-year-old Rabbi David Soussan, a member of the Bukharian Jewish community, was walking toward a nearby synagogue while visibly identifiable as Jewish, wearing tzitzit beneath his clothing and a black fedora covering his yarmulke.
Authorities allege that Grosso approached the rabbi and shouted an antisemitic slur before launching a violent assault. He is accused of yelling “&%$# Jews” and then punching the victim in the face and chest, knocking him to the ground.
The suspect was apprehended shortly after the incident by officers from the NYPD’s 112th Precinct inside the Forest Hills–71st Avenue subway station.
In a statement, District Attorney Katz emphasized both the severity of the attack and her office’s commitment to prosecuting hate crimes: “The defendant is indicted on the charge of assault as a hate crime. As alleged, he yelled hateful slurs before assaulting a rabbi completely unprovoked. Anti-Jewish bias still accounts for a significant share of hate crimes in our city, and my office will continue to take these cases with the utmost seriousness.”
The case took an additional turn when Grosso failed to appear for his scheduled arraignment on March 18. A bench warrant was subsequently issued for his arrest. He was later located and taken into custody in Manhattan on March 27, and has since been returned to Queens to face the charges.
Grosso was arraigned on the indictment before Queens Supreme Court Justice Germaine Auguste and is due back in court on May 7. If convicted of the top charge, he faces a potential sentence of 1⅓ to four years in prison.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Zebo Fattoyeva of the Hate Crimes Bureau, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Michael Brovner and Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Shawn Clark.
For many in Queens’ Jewish communities—particularly in Forest Hills and surrounding neighborhoods with strong Bukharian representation—the incident serves as a painful reminder that even in familiar, everyday settings, visible expressions of Jewish identity can still make individuals targets.
At the same time, the swift arrest and formal indictment signal that such acts will not go unanswered, and that law enforcement and prosecutors remain vigilant in confronting antisemitic violence wherever it occurs.
By Shabsie Saphirstein
Hate Crime Indictment Filed In Unprovoked Attack On Forest Hills Rabbi
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