Jewish leaders fault Mamdani rhetoric as Upper West Side stabbing, hate crime probe continues

Jewish leaders in New York City are accusing Mayor Zohran Mamdani of "fanning the flames of hatred and division" as an investigation is continuing Friday into a pair of stabbings in Manhattan’s Upper West Side that are being looked at as potential hate crimes.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said both victims in Thursday’s attack are currently in stable condition. The suspect, identified as Raul Morales, 51, is accused of yelling "Allahu Akbar" while stabbing two men on Thursday afternoon, according to officials.

"When the mayor of New York repeatedly uses his platform to relentlessly single out and demonize Israel, the world's only Jewish state, and calls those who support it monsters, he contributes to a climate in which Jewish New Yorkers are increasingly targeted and unsafe," Eric Goldstein, the CEO of the UJA-Federation of New York, said Friday.

"Mayor Mamdani, stop fanning the flames of hatred and division. The consequences are not abstract. They are playing out on our streets. But make no mistake, we're not going anywhere. The Jewish community of New York, the largest in the world outside Israel, will continue to walk the streets of the Upper West Side and all the streets of New York openly and proudly," he added.

SUSPECT ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY YELLING ‘ALLAHU AKBAR,' STABBING 2 MEN IN NYC ATTACK

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 Fox News Digital 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." 

WITNESSES RECOUNT 'SCARY' NYC STABBING AFTER SUSPECT ALLEGEDLY YELLED 'ALLAHU AKBAR' DURING ATTACKS

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."

"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."