Jewish Leaders, After Stabbings in Manhattan, Accuse Mamdani of Fanning Hate

Jewish leaders in New York City are accusing Mayor Zohran Mamdani of inciting antisemitism after two men were stabbed Thursday in Manhattan in incidents that are being investigated as possible hate crimes.One of the victims had just left Tisha B’Av services at the Jewish Center of Manhattan. The holiday marks the darkest day on the Jewish calendar and mourns the destruction of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem and also remembers the victims of the crusades, inquisition, and Holocaust.Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the attacker yelled “Allahu Akbar” as he stabbed the men in separate attacks a few blocks from each other. Police took a suspect, Raul Morales was charged with two counts each of assault, attempted murder, and criminal possession of a weapon, AMNY reported, citing police sources. One set of the charges was elevated to hate crimes, according to the news outlet, because police believe the suspect deliberately targeted the Jewish victim.The victims were hospitalized in stable condition, according to police. They were identified in news reports as Chok Sung, 57, and Moshe Grunhaus, 50.Ms. Tish said there is no known connection between the two attacks and it is not believed the victims knew each other or the attacker. Ms. Tish said police were trying to determine if the suspect has mental health issues.A group of community leaders held a press conference Friday morning outside the synagogue. Some speakers criticized Mr. Mamdani over his recent social media video that called for the arrest of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for war crimes.“We’re horrified and heartbroken by yesterday’s attacks. But to be clear, we are no longer surprised,” the UJA-Federation of New York’s chief executive officer, Eric Goldstein, told reporters.Mr. Goldstein said the rhetoric surrounding Israel and the Jewish community has grown increasingly toxic. “We want the mayor to stop demonizing the only Jewish state, using the most vilifying rhetoric, focused solely on the only Jewish state and the supporters of it, using language like ‘monsters’, using the most horrible, difficult language that inflames, that terrorizes, that causes people to do terrible things,” Mr. Goldstein added.“When public officials repeatedly cast the Jewish community as a stand-in for the actions of the Israeli government, they create a climate in which Jews can become targets,” Jewish Center of Manhattan Rabbi Yosie Levine said.“Jewish life in America is starting to feel like Jewish life in Europe,” Rabbi Levine added. “Armed guards, bullet-proof glass, and the constant fear that yesterday’s rhetoric will turn into today’s assault.”“What might seem to be an effective com[munication] strategy that could generate tons of clicks and views might not be a good governing strategy because it has day to day implications on the people that you serve and represent,” the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York’s chief executive officer, Mark Treyger, said.Mr. Mamdani, on Friday, defended his video in an interview with NY1. “When it comes to my comments about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, they are critiques not based on my personal analysis but rather on objective facts,” Mr. Mamdani said. “They are critiques of a political leader not of people of a specific faith or a religion or a background.”Mr. Mamdani added that the suspect may have mental problems and it hadn’t been determined that the attacks were a hate crime. The Jewish leaders countered that people with mental illness might be more likely to act upon inflammatory rhetoric.

Jewish Leaders, After Stabbings in Manhattan, Accuse Mamdani of Fanning Hate

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