“His lawyer is essentially arguing, ‘Beat a Jew, get two free.’ This is beyond despicable.”
A pro-Palestinian activist was sentenced on Friday to 18 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for his multi-year spree of violence against Jews.
Saadah Masoud, 29, of Staten Island, New York, pled guilty in federal court in November 2022 to conspiring to commit hate crimes in connection with his attacks on Jewish victims. As part of the guilty plea, he admitted to three assaults in 2021 and 2022.
He was sentenced on Friday by Judge Denise Cote in the Southern District of New York.
A sentencing document filed by prosecutors in February showcases the extent of Masoud’s antisemitism and the brutality of his crimes.
“I beat the s*** out of three Zionist[s] yesterday and didn’t even see a jail cell,” Masoud told his associates in the messaging app Signal on May 19, 2021, according to court documents. “ONLY VIOLENCE,” he exhorted, saying that they would only receive a minor ticket for attacking Jews.
The following day, May 20, Masoud arrived at a pro-Israel demonstration where he approached a man wearing a Star of David necklace, shouted at him, “Are you a f****** Jew?” and then punched the man in the face. After the assault, Masoud texted his friends: “no videos of me anywhere lmaooo. I’m Gucci. No face no case.”
Two weeks later on June 2, Masoud attacked his second victim, popular local Jewish radio host and city council candidate Heshy Tischler, outside of his home in Brooklyn. Masoud wrote in an Instagram direct message after the attack, “nah some jew politician said i assaulted him,” and said his lawyer was able to get him released without bail.
Masoud’s third assault was on 28-year-old Matt Greenman, who attended a pro-Palestinian demonstration draped in an Israeli flag in April 2022.
Greenman recounted the attack in an interview with New York broadcaster PIX 11. A group of men marching in a pro-Palestinian demonstration spotted him on the corner of Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street in midtown Manhattan.
Masoud’s friends “started to make a little circle and he got me from behind, got me on the ground, and punched me in the face,” said Greenman. “I got this black eye. He kicked me in the face a whole bunch.”
Greenman was taken to the hospital and treated for a concussion.