Jewish New Yorkers on antisemitism, safety and the city’s first anti-Zionist mayor

(RNS) — After two men, one wearing a kippah and the other Asian, were attacked in Manhattan last week, the New York Police Department announced it would investigate the incident as a hate crime. The double-stabbing happened amid an uptick in antisemitic crimes in the city, which has the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.

In April, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said more than half of all hate crimes in New York City this year targeted Jews. M any Jewish leaders and residents have raised concerns about growing antisemitism in the city, with some arguing that Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s recent criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has intensified tensions.

The non-fatal stabbing on the Upper West Side on July 23, has prompted fear among Jewish New Yorkers, said Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, the executive president of the New York Board of Rabbis.

“I think it’s just very, very sad, or very disheartening, that we’re at a place where the people who have helped build the city now feel the need to leave the city in many cases,” he said.

The mayor condemned the stabbings and praised the NYPD’s response. “These hateful and despicable attacks have no…