Posted on 05/30/25
| News Source: Arutz-7
A Yonkers man received a six-year prison sentence and three years of supervised release on Thursday for attacking a Jewish barber, News 12 Westchester reported.
Ahmed al Jabali, 34, was sentenced by Judge James McCarty at Westchester County Court in White Plains.
Judge McCarty condemned al Jabali's actions, stating, "You admitted to and committed a reprehensible act, which hurt another person."
The victim, 50-year-old Jewish barber Slava Shushakov, was attacked with scissors in his Yonkers Avenue barbershop last August. Police reported that al Jabali used expletives and expressed a desire to kill the victim during the assault, which left Shushakov with multiple cuts.
Al Jabali pleaded guilty in April to second-degree assault as a hate crime and expressed remorse in court through an interpreter, saying, "I'm very sorry for this."
However, Shushakov expressed skepticism regarding the apology. "You know, I can see his eyes [in] that moment. I don't know. 'Sorry,' You know,... can be just a word," he remarked. Despite being satisfied with the sentence, Shushakov is now focused on raising awareness about antisemitism. "I [am] just a Jew and I can't explain why different people, for some reason, hate us," he stated.
A spokesperson for Westchester's Jewish Council commented on the sentencing, stating, "We hope that the prosecution of this crime sends a strong message that this type of conduct is not tolerated in Westchester.”