Lawfare Project GETS RESULTS for Lihi Aharon

Last month, we told you about Lihi Aharon, the Jewish Israeli student who was assaulted on a New York City subway after speaking Hebrew with a Jewish man, easily identifiable by his kippah.

Lihi was physically attacked and called a "nasty ass Jew," among other derogatory terms. She still bears a huge scar on her face from the anti-Semitic assault.

We partnered with Ken Belkin of Spodek Law Group to provide pro bono representation for Lihi and made a commitment to help her seek justice.

We spoke directly with the Manhattan District Attorney's office and they informed us of their initial decision to not pursue hate crime charges. They wouldn't even present the case to a grand jury to determine whether such charges were merited.

It's hard to interpret a physical attack on a young Jewish woman who was speaking Hebrew, accompanied by taunts of "you f**king nasty ass Jew" as anything less than a hate crime.

The Lawfare Project took action. We mobilized our allies and brought publicattention to the case as well as the DA's baffling decision.

Last Friday, the DA's office confirmed to us that they had reversed courseand will now be presenting this matter to the grand jury as a hate crime.

This is a MAJOR VICTORY for Lihi and victims of anti-Semitism everywhere. But there is so much work to be done. Jews in New York City and around the world face targeted harassment and anti-Semitic violence every single day.

The Lawfare Project is committed to providing free legal assistance to those who need it. Please let us know if we can help you or someone you know.