The War on Hanukkah Begins

It starts out like an early Christmas present for the wingnut bloggers. The perfect attack vehicle for a favorite meme:

NEW YORK (AP) -- An attack on four subway riders during Hanukkah last week is being investigated as a possible hate crime, police and prosecutors said Tuesday.

Two men and two women were approached Friday night by another group who began yelling anti-Semitic remarks at them and assaulting them on a southbound train in Manhattan, police said. The victims had bruises and welts on their faces and heads, but were not hospitalized, police said.

Police caught up with the train in Brooklyn and arrested eight men and two women, ages 19 and 20. They were arraigned Saturday on charges of disorderly conduct, third-degree assault and menacing and second-degree riot and harassment, the Brooklyn district attorney's office said. The case was being handled by the office's civil rights bureau, and charges could be upgraded to a hate crime, prosecutors said Tuesday.

"Where is this coming from when young people are involved in this kind of behavior?" said State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who represents Brooklyn. "You would think we've learned from the past. Something rotten is going on."

And here's where the wingnut mind starts racing. It's New York City! Why no mention of the attackers' race or religion!? They must be Muslims, or illegal immigrants at least! This will be a hit bonanza, if only I can beat the competition. I'll use my mad Google skillz, uncover the A.P.'s cover-up, and be a keyboard hero!

[Continuing directly] One of the men charged, Joseph Jirovec, 19, pleaded guilty last year to attempted robbery as a hate crime and was awaiting sentencing, prosecutors said. Jirovec, who is white, was part of a group that yelled racial epithets and assaulted two black teenagers in Brooklyn, prosecutors said.

Oh .... shit! I can't use that!

But wait, there's more:

Joseph Jirovec, 19 - the son of a city firefighter who has pleaded guilty to an earlier bias crime against African-Americans - said he didn't even know the group he clashed with was Jewish.

"We are not racist against Jewish people. That whole hate crime thing is ridiculous," the Brooklyn man said.

Jirovec and nine of his pals were busted on Friday after a fight on the Q train with four Hanukkah celebrants.

Cops said the troubles began when one of the assailants made anti-Semitic remarks about the Jews killing Jesus.

"This is a Christian country," one of the attacker [sic] said during the beating, according to a police source.

...

But Jirovec - who will begin serving a six-month sentence for his role in the 2005 bias attack against four black men in Gerritsen Beach - denied those claims.

"I'm trying to stay out of trouble," he said."I want to straighten out everything in my life. When I get out, I want to go into the military."

And the tiny tears flow down wingnut cheeks. Reality has stolen Christmas from them again!