An Israeli educator, Rami Glikstein, was violently assaulted in Manhattan in what officials have condemned as a blatant antisemitic attack, highlighting a sharp rise in anti-Jewish violence across New York City, reports Israel National News.
Glikstein, 58, a lecturer and former IDF educator visiting the United States with his family, was walking to the kosher restaurant Mr. Broadway when a man approached, pointed at his kippah, and demanded: “Tell me what your religion is.” When Glikstein tried to walk away, the assailant threw his kippah to the ground, spat on it, and struck him in the face. Glikstein was later treated at a local hospital.
Israel’s Consul General in New York, Ofir Akunis, condemned the assault, calling it “a direct result of the daily incitement worldwide, including in the US, against Jews and Israel.”
“Unchecked lies, blood libels, and calls for another October 7 massacre are fuelling violence,” Akunis warned. “All US public leaders must immediately and forcefully condemn the attack and the calls for violence.”
The attack follows a surge in antisemitic incidents across New York and the wider United States since the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre in Israel. According to a New York Police Department report published in January, antisemitic hate crimes in the city rose by 7% from 2023 to 2024, making Jews once again the most frequently targeted religious group.
The incident has sparked renewed calls for stronger law enforcement action and public condemnation of antisemitic rhetoric that, critics warn, has increasingly spilled into physical violence against Jews in public spaces.
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