De Blasio, Cuomo condemn Times Square attack and Israel-Palestinian melee

Mayor Bill de Blasio condemned the brutal attack on a Jewish man in Times Square — and the melee that erupted there between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian demonstrators, who had gathered for dueling rallies over the violence in the Middle East.

“It’s absolutely disgusting and unacceptable,” de Blasio told WNYC host Brian Lehrer on Friday during his weekly appearance on the public radio station. “We had a man viciously beaten simply because he appeared to some individuals to be Jewish. We had folks throwing very potent fireworks and creating harm to others and burning at least one person,” he continued. “This is unacceptable.”