A bigoted brute is being sought after for sending an Israeli tourist to the ER for a brain bleed after roughing him up and desecrating his yarmulke outside of an upscale New York City kosher eatery. 

The victim, identified by an official as 59-year-old Rami Glikstein, was allegedly blocked from entering the Glatt Kosher eatery Mr. Broadway, in midtown Manhattan, just before 12:45 p.m. on Monday.

“[Glikstein] was trying to enter our restaurant but this man wouldn’t let him,” the Mr. Broadway manager, who identified himself as KD, tells the Sun in an exclusive interview.

Then things turned violent. 

“He threw [Glikstein’s] kippah on the floor,” he said. “He put his leg on it, [he] put it on the floor and he spit on it.”

The manager of the eatery, known for its upscale Mediterranean cuisine and Hemish fare that has been serving customers since 1986, was able to review CCTV footage of the encounter showing the suspect, described by authorities as a black man standing about 6-feet-2, and weighing about 280 pounds. 

In one photo of the suspect secured by the Sun, the accused can be seen clad in a black jacket with a tactical-looking vest, and a black Von Dutch-branded baseball cap. Glikstein is standing with a beige kippah with a grey backpack, a light brown puffer coat and clutching a cup of coffee. 

“What religion are you,” the Israeli’s attacker allegedly sneered, before he flipped the yarmulke off his head. 

The brute allegedly sauntered off but then turned around and darted toward Glikstein, throwing and landing a combination of punches to his face and then finally stormed off. 

Glikstein was lying on the pavement when the eatery’s maître d’ and another colleague helped him up and took him to the expansive 250-seat dining room restaurant’s bathroom.

“He got hit by the guy, so we brought him in,” KD confirmed. “We took him into the restaurant and he was so bloody and then we helped bring him to the ambulance.”

The manager recalls Mr. Glikstein, who he believes works as a teacher, lost in a daze from what he suspects was a direct result from “hitting the concrete so hard.”

The tourist was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital where he was treated for a brain bleed as well as a gash and bruising to his face.

He is expected to recover. 

The NYPD Hate Crime Task force is probing the assault as a potential bias crime. 

In a statement, the Israeli consulate general of New York, Ofir Akunis, who met with Mr. Glikstein at his hospital bed — condemned the unprovoked beatdown that he contends isn’t isolated. 

“This attack is a direct result of the daily incitement taking place around the world — including in the United States — against Jews and against Israel. Lies, verbal violence, calls for another October 7 massacre, and the unrestricted spread of blood libels, such as the false Gaza narrative, influence many people, some of whom do not hesitate to commit physical attacks.” 

So far in 2025, there have been 263 incidents categorized as antisemitic hate crimes in New York City. That is a decrease of 11 percent in 2025 compared to last year where there were 297, according to the latest NYPD crime statistics. 

Still, overall hate crimes are down 20 percent citywide compared to this time last year.