In the aftermath of two stabbings on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Jewish leaders in New York City are calling out Mayor Zohran Mamdani, accusing him of exacerbating division and hatred. The ongoing investigation into these incidents now considers them potential hate crimes.
New York Attorney General Letitia James reported that both victims from Thursday’s attack are in stable condition. Officials have identified the suspect as 51-year-old Raul Morales, who allegedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” while committing the stabbings.
Eric Goldstein, CEO of the UJA-Federation of New York, expressed his concerns on Friday, stating, “When the mayor of New York continuously uses his platform to target and vilify Israel, the world’s only Jewish state, and labels its supporters as monsters, it fosters an environment that puts Jewish New Yorkers in danger.”
Goldstein urged, “Mayor Mamdani, cease fueling the fires of hatred and division. The repercussions are clear and present in our streets. However, let there be no doubt, our community will not retreat. The Jewish community of New York, the largest outside of Israel, will continue to inhabit the Upper West Side and all New York streets with pride and visibility.”
Footage of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani commenting on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emerges from a video released on July 21, 2026. (Reuters)
Rabbi Yosie Levine of The Jewish Center also said Friday that, “When public officials repeatedly cast the Jewish community as a stand-in for actions of the Israeli government, they create a climate in which Jews become targets.”
“You know when I was growing up, the only time we saw security outside of my synagogue or outside of my Jewish day school was when the mayor came to speak. The police were there to protect him. Today, every time the mayor speaks, we need the police to protect us,” he added. “Jewish life in America is starting to feel like Jewish life in Europe. Armed guards, bulletproof glass, and the constant fear that yesterday’s rhetoric will turn into today’s assault.”
When asked by News Media for a response, Mamdani’s office highlighted remarks the mayor made to NY1 on Friday, in which he said, “There’s no tolerance for antisemitism or hatred of any kind in this city.”
“This is a city that believes in the beauty and the breadth of all of its five boroughs and everyone who calls it home. And if anyone is perpetrating this kind of a bigotry, that kind of hatred, they will be held fully accountable,” Mamdani told the station.
“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,” he added. “They are critiques of a political leader not of people of a specific faith or a religion or a background and my responsibility as the mayor of this city is to keep every New Yorker safe, no matter where they come from, what they believe in, or frankly, even if they agree with my politics. My job is to keep them safe.”
The suspect allegedly yelled “Allahu Akbar” during the attack on Thursday, July 23, in New York City. (Manhattan Shomrim Safety Patrol/@AGHamilton29 via X)
The victims were identified in media reports as Chok Sung, 57, and Moshe Grunhaus, 50.
“So many people know Moshe, so many people care about him. He was just trying to pray at his synagogue, and now we’re the ones praying for his recovery,” Levine said. “To have been stabbed 200 feet from the Jewish center evokes all the worst images of the Jewish past. If a Jew can’t feel safe walking home from shul in broad daylight on a Thursday afternoon on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, then something has gone profoundly wrong, not only for the Jewish community, but for our city.”
Goldstein added that Mamdani’s recent video in which he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal” was “political grandstanding.”
“This is the largest Jewish community in the world outside of Israel. His words have profound real world consequences on us and shame on him. Shame on him for doing this for perceived political benefit when it has real world consequence for the Jews of New York. He must stop,” Goldstein said.
James said after speaking with the NYPD commissioner and local district attorney, “they have asked me not to draw any conclusions as a result of last night’s event.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said that while his office lacks the authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under the International Criminal Court’s warrant, he urges the U.S. to do so. (Camara Porter/AdMedia/Sipa USA; Ronen Zvulun/Pool/Reuters)
“What I do want to say is that it’s really critically important that individuals understand that anti-Semitic acts have been growing in the city of New York. It’s really critically important,” she said. “And then also acts against the Asian community have also been on the increase. So it’s important that I stand with my Jewish friends, that I stand with my Asian friends, that I let everyone know that there should not be any space between any of us, that we should stand together against any form of hate, any act of hate in the city and the state of New York, that it will not be tolerated.”