Indian Immigrant Allegedly Mistaken for Being Chinese Beaten in Israel for ‘Causing Coronavirus’

An Indian immigrant was attacked in Israel after several unidentified individuals mistook him for being Chinese, blaming him for the “coronavirus” outbreak.

Identified as 28-year-old Am-Shalem Singson, the victim sustained severe chest injuries after the vicious assault on Saturday in Tiberias, reports the Ynetnews.

Singson, who hails from the Bnei Menashe community in Manipur, India, immigrated to Israel in 2017. After the attack, he was admitted to the Poriya Medical Center where he received treatment for his injuries.

“I tried to explain to the two attackers I wasn’t Chinese, but a Jew from the Bnei Menashe community,” Singson said.

“There is no justification to attack someone for being Chinese or anyone else for that matter, but they were in a state of total madness while kicking me.”

Singson resides in Tiberias as a student at a yeshiva program, studying the Talmud and offering military service. There, he lives with his mother, grandmother and brother.

The Bnei Menashe community is a group in India who practice Judaism under the belief that they are descendants from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel. Over 4,000 immigrants from Bnei Menashe have already immigrated to Israel, with about 6,500 more still pending to receive permission to move.

Michael Freund, the founder and chairman of organization Shavei Israel, expressed shock about the attack.

“The Bnei Menashe are our brothers and sisters,” Freund said.

“Coronavirus does not differentiate between people based on their skin color, facial structure or eye shape. I demand that the Israeli police force investigate this matter with total urgency in order to bring those responsible to justice.”

Israel’s Racism Crisis Center, an organization that fights racial discrimination, has demanded a thorough investigation from the local police to “properly find and punish the offenders.“

“In past plagues, it was the Jews who were wrongfully accused of spreading the disease; let us learn a humane lesson from the past,” the organization said in a statement.

As of press time, the local authorities are reportedly in the process of “gathering information regarding the assailants.”

Feature Image via Shavei Israel

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