Joseph Borgen appearing on “The View” on Friday. Photo: screenshot

The young Jewish man who attacked by a gang of pro-Palestinian thugs in the streets of New York City said that he was intent on continuing to be a “proud Jew” and that the support of the Jewish community and his loved ones has given him the strength to deal with the assault, in an interview Friday.

Joseph Borgen, 29, was ambushed, beaten and pepper sprayed by five assailants while returning from a May 20 pro-Israel demonstration, and while he was wearing a kippah.

His attackers voiced antisemitic slurs during the attack.

One of the men, Waseem Awawdeh, 23, said after being arrested, “I’d do it again.”

Speaking with Meghan McCain on the talk show The View, Borgen said, “I’ve been a proud Jew my entire life, I’ve lived in New York my entire life. Never once before was I accosted verbally or felt threatened by the fact that I was Jewish, for wearing a kippah, or anything of that ilk or that nature.”

“In the wake of this incident, the amount of support from the Jewish community, from friends, family, and loved ones, has essentially just reinforced my faith in the people that are my brothers in this religion, just because they give me the strength to continue on,” he said.

“The night when I got back from the hospital, before I could even turn my phone on,” he recounted, “I had hundreds of messages from people, numbers I didn’t even know, people I haven’t spoken to in years.”

“Just having that strength, that support, from everyone around me really just gave me the strength to hopefully make a difference and try to ensure that this could happen to one less person,” Borgen said, “because to be honest, it’s a terrible experience.”

Watch the full interview with Borgen below:

JEWISH ASSAULT VICTIM SPEAKS OUT: Joseph Borgen is the 29-year-old man who was brutally beaten in New York City last month — Meghan McCain speaks with him about the horrible incident, the rise of anti-Semitic activity in America and the politicians he says should be speaking out. pic.twitter.com/Q8KubiM62S

— The View (@TheView) June 6, 2021