Yonkers man gets 6 years in prison for attacking Jewish barber
Ahmed Al Jabali, 34, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault as a hate crime.
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A Yonkers man who pleaded guilty to attacking a Jewish barber was sentenced to six years in prison and three years of supervised release on Thursday.
Ahmed al Jabali's sentence was delivered by Judge James McCarty at Westchester County Court in White Plains.
"You admitted to and committed a reprehensible act, which hurt another person," McCarty said.
The person the judge referred to is a Jewish barber named Slava Shushakov.
The 50-year-old was attacked with a pair of scissors by al Jabali, 34, in August at his barbershop on Yonkers Avenue.
Police said al Jabali called the victim expletives and said he wanted to kill him.
The attack left several cuts, that are still healing, on the victim's body.
Al Jabali pleaded guilty to second-degree assault as a hate crime and used an interpreter in court on Thursday to express remorse for his actions.
"I'm very sorry for this," al Jabali said through a translator.
While the judge accepted al Jabali's apology, News 12 went over to the victim's business to see if he did as well.
"You know, I can see his eyes [in] that moment. I don't know. 'Sorry,' You know,... can be just a word," Shushakov said.
Although he's satisfied with the sentence, Shushakov said he's now using this incident to raise awareness about antisemitism.
"I [am] just a Jew and I can't explain why different people, for some reason, hate us," Shushakov said.
A spokesperson for Westchester's Jewish Council issued a statement regarding al Jabali's sentence.
"We hope that the prosecution of this crime sends a strong message that this type of conduct is not tolerated in Westchester,” the spokesperson wrote.
Attorneys for the prosecution and the defense declined to comment.
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