Two men were stabbed Thursday on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, including a Jewish man wearing a yarmulke, in attacks that New York police are investigating as possible hate crimes after witnesses said the suspect shouted “Allahu Akbar.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the incident, blaming what he described as months of anti-Israel incitement by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The stabbings occurred during Tisha b’Av, the Jewish day of mourning. Police said both victims were hospitalized in stable condition after initially reporting that one had been in critical condition.
According to the New York Police Department, the first attack occurred around 1:30 p.m. at West 84th Street and Central Park West, where a 57-year-old Asian man was stabbed in the torso. A second victim, a 50-year-old Jewish man, was stabbed near West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, close to a church and an Orthodox synagogue.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said officers arrested Raul Morales, 51, and that no additional suspects were being sought.
“Detectives continue to investigate the case and determine the motive, but according to statements from the victims and eyewitnesses, Morales shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ during both attacks. The NYPD (New York Police Department) is examining whether this was a hate crime,” Tisch said.
She added, “While the attacker has no known history of mental health issues, the preliminary investigation suggests that mental state may be a factor in the incident. At this stage, no connection is known between Morales and any of the victims, nor between the victims themselves.”
According to the Anti-Defamation League, one of the victims was wearing a kippah, identifying him as Jewish. City Council Speaker Julie Menin called the incident an “antisemitic stabbing,” saying “the fear in the Jewish community is real, and every New Yorker deserves to feel safe in their neighborhood regardless of their faith or identity.”
Mamdani said he had been briefed on the attacks and thanked responding police officers.
“The NYPD’s initial investigation suggests that mental health may have been a factor. They are also evaluating these stabbings as potential hate crimes,” he said. “These hateful and despicable attacks have no place in our city.”
Saar wrote on X, “I am appalled by the horrific antisemitic stabbing attack in New York. Appalled but sadly not surprised.”
He added, “This violence did not happen in a vacuum. Months of incitement against the Jewish state from Mamdani have helped create a climate in which Jews are targeted.”
“Words have consequences. Mamdani must end the incitement, confront antisemitism with resolve, and act now to protect the city’s Jewish community,” he concluded.
