Jewish barber Slava Shushakova of Yonkers, NY, was attacked by an Islamic customer with the barber’s own scissors. Moderately injured, the barber ascribed his survival to the mezuzah on his shop affixed by Yonkers shliach Rabbi Mendy Hurwitz.
VIN and Anash.org
Yonkers barber Slava Shushakova was stabbed with his own scissors by an Islamic customer, but he says he was spared serious harm thanks to the mezuzah on his door.
Ahmed al Jabali, 34, was getting his beard cut by Slava on Aug. 29 when he lashed out against Israel and the trim descended into bloody violence, according to Slava and city officials.
“He cut me one time and I asked him to stop and leave my store,” Slava, who’s seen al Jabali around the neighborhood for years, told The NY Post. “He didn’t. And he said, ‘No, I have to finish you, and after I’ll go. That’s what he wanted.
“He told me, ‘This is right to do, and he’s right, and he has a right as a Muslim to punish Jews.’” He also wanted to burn the shop down.
Speaking with secular news site LoHud, Slava credited his Mezuzah with protecting him from serious harm. The mezuzah was installed two years ago by local shliach Rabbi Mendy Hurwitz, when they proudly posed for a photo for The Jewish Link. Slava acknowledged the mezuzah’s protection this week and said he was thankful that he was not more seriously injured.
During the incident, Al Jabali had kept talking about the Israel war in Gaza. Slava tried to get Al Jabali to change the subject, but it didn’t work. In a flash al Jabali grabbed a pair of Jaguar scissors from the counter and lunged at Slava while shouting a vile antisemitic threat.
Slava tried to ward off the attack, and was at least partially successful — the shears thankfully didn’t reach his head or body, despite al Jabali’s efforts.
“Thank G-d he didn’t touch my face, because he tried to hit me different ways,” Slava said. “This is how I stopped him, with my hands.” Slava needed 30 stitches for the severe wounds.
The barber grabbed a kitchen knife to fight back, but al Jabali fled, and was nabbed by police a short time later. Jabali, from Yemen, is now charged with two counts of second-degree attempted murder as a hate crime.
According to LoHud, the barber said he knew al Jabali from the neighborhood and that he had heard him previously talking about how Iran was going to blow up Israel. He said on Thursday that al Jabali was acting aggressively and had been drinking. He said he thought about refusing to give him a haircut but did not want to antagonize him.
Wow! Yasher Choach!