A 28-year-old Indian Jewish man sustained severe injuries to his chest and lungs after he was beaten in Israel, on Mar. 15, by two Israeli men who thought he was Chinese.

Pushed to the ground, kicked repeatedly

According to The Times of Israel, both men had screamed "Corona! Corona!" and called Am-Shalem Singson "Chinese" during the attack.

Israeli media Ynetnews further reported that the two Israelis had also pushed Singson to the ground and kicked him repeatedly.

This is despite Singson having come to Israel from Manipur, India, in 2017.

He is a member of the Bnei Menashe, a Jewish community from northeastern India.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Singson was subsequently hospitalised at Baruch Padeh Medical Center in the Israeli city of Tiberias, where he is currently in stable condition.

Tried to explain he wasn't Chinese

Singson stated that he had tried to explain to his attackers that he was Jewish instead of Chinese.

He also added, "There is no justification to attack someone for being Chinese or anyone else for that matter, but they were in a state of total madness while kicking me."

A complaint has since been made to the police, who have stated that they are "mainly gathering information regarding the assailants at this stage," Ynetnews reported.

Racism against Asians in Israel has risen since the Covid-19 outbreak began

Meanwhile, the Racism Crisis Center of the Israel Religious Action Center issued a statement condemning the attack, the Times of Israel reported.

The organisation stated:

"More than 10,000 people from China and East Asia work in Israel today. The [coronavirus] panic must not turn them into targets. In some previous epidemics, it was the Jews who were falsely accused of spreading the disease. Let’s learn that humane lesson."

The Jerusalem Post further quoted a Japanese-American immigrant to Israel, who stated that racism against Asians in Israel had been rising since the beginning of the outbreak.

Top image from Shavei Israel Facebook