Self-professed ‘Jew hater’ learns fate for slew of assaults at NYC Israel-Gaza protests: ‘I’m sorry, guys’

A self-professed “Jew hater” responsible for a string of assaults at Israel-Gaza protests in Manhattan said “I’m sorry, guys” as he learned his fate Tuesday — but at least one of his victims wasn’t moved by the brief apology.

Tarek Bazrouk, 20, was sentenced to 17 months in prison after pleading guilty to federal hate crime charges for kicking and punching Jewish people at three demonstrations, the most recent in January.

“I’m sorry, guys, and I hope that you forgive me for my actions,” Bazrouk said, turning around at the defense table to face two of his victims in Manhattan federal court.

“I promise you, judge, that if you give me a chance you will not be disappointed,” Bazrouk, a Manhattan native whose family is Palestinian, said during the statement that lasted around a minute.

It did not impress one of his victims, Roman Efraimov, who was wearing an Israeli flag draped over his shoulders and a Star of David chain visible around his neck when Bazrouk punched him in the nose at a protest on 18th St. and First Avenue early this year, the feds said.

“I don’t believe that he has remorse or knows the seriousness of the crime,” Efraimov told Judge Richard Berman — adding that Bazrouk “smirked” at him while issuing his statement.

“He turned around twice and smirked … I don’t feel it in my gut,” Efraimov told the court.

Berman’s sentence was below prosecutors’ recommendation of at least three years behind bars but more than the 12 months in custody suggested by the probation department.

People who assault Jews, or people of any other ethnicity or faith at protests because of their identity, are “very likely to go to jail,” Berman said from the bench.

“It works the opposite way as well,” the judge said. “The rules that are applied in this case do not apply to Jews or Palestinians alone. They apply to everybody.”

On April 15, 2024, wearing a green headband typically worn by members of Hamas, Bazrouk kicked a separate kippah-wearing Jew, Elisha Baker, in the chest as he stood with an Israeli flag and sang a Jewish song during a demonstration near the New York Stock Exchange, according to the feds.

Baker addressed the court Tuesday, saying “My experiences as a Jew in America have been altered forever because of the actions of this man.”

“When I looked in his eyes, I saw someone who sought to hurt me and cause me pain just because of who I am,” Baker said.

Bazrouk also punched a kippah-wearing Columbia student in the face at a separate protest on Dec. 9, 2024, after stealing an Israeli flag from the student’s brother, prosecutors said.

The feds had pushed for a harsh sentence for what they called Bazrouk’s “repeated, premeditated assaults on Jewish individuals based on their ethnicity and religion, and “the ongoing danger he poses to Jews.”

They cited his “deeply seeded anti-Jewish animus” revealed by his text messages — including a May 2024 missive to a friend in which he wrote, “I’m a Jew hater,” alongside a crying laughing emoji.

Bazrouk also was a member of a chat group that received “regular updates” from Abu Obeida, a spokesperson for Hamas’ deadly al-Qassam Brigades militant group, prosecutors alleged.

Bazrouk’s attorney, public defender Andrew Dalack, argued in vain Tuesday for the judge to release him from jail — where he has been locked up since he was busted in May — and allow him to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest.

Dalack said in court that Bazrouk was remorseful for his actions and “has continued to grapple with how those terrible decisions not only affected him … but his family and his community.”

Bazrouk’s cousin was “killed by Israeli settlers” in May 2008 “even though he was not participating in any hostilities,” Dalack said in court papers filed in advance of the sentence.

Bazrouk pleaded guilty in June, just one month after his arrest, and appeared to express contrition in a letter sent to the court.

“I don’t want to see more attacks on Israel like the one committed by Hamas on October 7. I don’t want to see any more people in Gaza die of starvation or from bombings. What I know now that I wish I knew a year ago is this: I’m certain that punching and kicking Jewish or Israeli people won’t solve anything,” the letter reads.

“It won’t make me feel better. It won’t take away the pain and suffering of Palestinians. And it certainly won’t help bring Palestinians and Israelis closer together,” he wrote.

As Berman announced the 17-month sentence, Bazrouk, wearing a tan jail-issued jumpsuit, turned to face his relatives in the courthouse gallery, including his older sister, who started silently weeping.

Efraimov told The Post after Tuesday’s hearing that he felt the sentence was “fair,” while Baker said, “I feel safer now that I know my attacker will not be roaming the streets for a considerable amount of time.”

“The message that the judge sent today was that if you target and assault Jews simply because they are Jewish, you will be held accountable,” Baker said.

Bazrouk’s sister, Anwar Bazrouk, addressed the court before the sentence was handed down, saying, “I want to emphasize that me and my family strongly condemn violence in all forms, and that “We are all committed to make sure that nothing like this happens again.”

Anwar said she’s still puzzled by her brother’s hateful text messages unearthed during the investigation.

“I ask myself about the text messages, I ask myself where he learned to say those things about Jewish people,” she said. “We come from a humble family that never taught him to say those things.”