A former winner of the Miss Israel beauty pageant was hit in the face with a sign during a pro-Palestinian protest in Times Square in March, according to police, and now the suspect is on the run.
The incident occurred just after 5 p.m. near Broadway and West 46th Street on March 30, police said Tuesday. The woman, identified by police sources as 25-year-old Noa Cochva, was walking at the popular tourist destination when an unknown man started arguing with her.
Cochva, who was crowned Miss Israel in 2021, was then hit in the face with a cardboard sign, law enforcement sources told NBC New York.
The alleged attacker ran off. Cochva refused medical attention, police said.
The beauty queen has shared pictures on her Instagram showing her serve as a medic in the IDF. She posted photos and videos of the encounter as well, captioning a video saying "4 of us Israelis went to counter a protest and were up against 5000 people. We went straight into the heart of the protest and waved the Israeli flag showing our pride. They can intimidate us, outnumber us, rip our flags out of our hands and even be violent, but they will NEVER take away our pride."
Police released an image of the man wanted in the incident.
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Anyone with information in regard to the incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website.
