Orthodox Jew rescued from anti-Semitic attacker by 'good Samaritan' nurses

An Orthodox Jewish man was attacked by an anti-Semitic assailant in Brooklyn on Sunday night, and he may have had his life saved by two "good Samaritan" nurses who came to his aid, WCBS-TV reported.

What happened?

A Jewish man, who chose to keep his identity private, was walking home from his synagogue Saturday. He passed by a stranger who he said hello to, and then the exchange suddenly turned violent.

The man said the stranger got angry after his greeting:

"I turned around and I see that he's right behind me and he jumped me," the victim said to WCBS. "I greeted him hello. Next thing I know he said, 'I don't like Jews. Who were you talking to?' He put me in a headlock and I'm trying to maneuver out of him. In the meantime, I'm screaming, 'Help! Help! Help! Help!' He says, 'You don't need help. I'm going to kill you right here.'"

Two nurses who passed by a few minutes into the altercation saw the victim in serious danger, and restrained the suspect so the victim could escape. He retrieved his hat and glasses before going on his way.

The suspect somehow escaped, and the Anti-Defamation League is offering $5,000 for information leading to his arrest.

Fear in the community

This was the second attack on an Orthodox Jewish man in Brooklyn within a week, and it has some residents feeling nervous to leave their homes.

On April 14, another Jewish man was punched in the face repeatedly in a possibly unrelated assault that's being investigated by the NYPD Hate Crime Unit.

"There's fear," the victim's wife told WCBS. "There's a lot of fear. The thing we know is that, unfortunately, there are people out there who want to kill us for one reason — because we are a Jew."