An outraged witness ripped the New York Times for downplaying Friday night’s attack on Central Synagogue, “perverting the reality that an extremely violent and frightening incident” took place inside a place of worship, and “diluting the true story and subtext.”
Harry Zimmerman fired off a lengthy Facebook screed condemning the Gray Lady’s reporting of the violent attack on the high-profile synagogue that left one congregant with gruesome wounds and a security guard assaulted.
“I saw what happened Friday night,” wrote Zimmerman, 70, who was sitting in the sixth row of the “packed” synagogue on Lexington Avenue and East 55th Street.
“I cannot emotionally consolidate … the difference between what I witnessed from a few feet away and how The New York Times decided to describe the event,” the shaken witness continued, noting that the hateful perp – Larry Montes, who reportedly seethed, “f–k the Jews” – was charged with a hate crime.
The Times article, which described the violent, unhinged attack as “interrupt[ing]” worshippers and “rattl[ing] New Yorkers,” deceptively downplayed the actual event, according to Zimmerman.
“I have heard for years that the Times is unfairly critical and biased in its coverage of Israel and issues affecting the Jewish community. People can debate that if they like. What was different this time was that I did not need anyone else’s interpretation. I was there. I saw it happen,” he wrote.
The hateful attacker “violently disrupted” the Shabbat services attended by hundreds of worshipers, according to Zimmerman, who found it “difficult to reconcile” the Times description of the unprovoked attack with the reality he saw right before him.
Zimmerman laced into the Times for whitewashing the actions of Montes, 46, whom the paper described as “agitated” and “struggled” as he “hit” 63-year-old Michele Anenbeg-Poma, who was seen with a busted lip and a bloody gash on her right forearm.
“What I witnessed was very different,” wrote Zimmerman, who described a deranged Montes as “suddenly screaming at the top of his lungs,” moving through the aisle “with his arms swinging, while congregants sat only inches away.”
Zimmerman said he was “only feet away” and insisted “this did not occur as part of a struggle,” adding that the attack happened before security restrained the suspect. Montes zeroed in on Anenberg-Poma, who was positioned near the aisle, according to Zimmerman, “and struck her in the face fist closed full force. She flew backward immediately.”
The Times’ reporting that Montes “knocked over a set of candlesticks” suggested collateral damage during the melee and “does not fully capture what took place,” according to Zimmerman.
“I saw him intentionally grab and destroy them, much in the way Germans and the [Poles] went into synagogues in [1938] and destroy[ed] Torahs,” fumed Zimmerman.
He asserted that the Times “would describe” the World War II-era desecration “as destroying history books” – a reference to the paper’s notorious downplaying of pre-Holocaust Europe.
The congregant elaborated on his frustration with the misleading reporting.
“Where I experienced a violent disruption inside a packed sanctuary during Shabbat services, the phrasing in the article — particularly words like ‘agitated’ and ‘temple’s interior’ — feels less immediate and less specific to the setting and severity of what unfolded,” the congregant said.
“And certainly dilutes the true story and subtext.”
Zimmerman, a digital creator, added that “responsible language and media framing are what news reporting is supposed to be doing.”
He penned his own account on Facebook – which he noted the site initially deleted – to juxtapose with the Times piece, urging readers to “decide for themselves.”
“For years I have heard concerns raised about how The New York Times frames stories involving the Jewish community. Until Friday night, my perspective on that debate was necessarily secondhand,” wrote Zimmerman. “But not anymore.”
The influence that journalists wield carries “responsibility,” Zimmerman asserted, admonishing the Times for its watered-down account.
“When reporting on violence in a religious space – particularly violence that may be motivated by hate – precision and clarity in language are especially important.”
Expressions of support poured in on Zimmerman’s Facebook page on Monday, with one post thanking the witness “for pointing out the shoddy journalism of the New York Times.”
The Manhattan district attorney’s office charged Montes – who reportedly later called Jews “swine” – with two counts of assault as a hate crime, two counts of aggravated harassment and one count of criminal mischief as a hate crime.
The Post has sought comment from the Times.