Urgent Warning: Rising Anti-Semitism Threatens Jewish Safety in NYC and Beyond

If you are reading this article I URGE you to please send this to your community leaders and religious leaders

Bruce News MA Ed.

Writer / CEO

Support The Movement donate a cup of coffee. www.BruceNews.ComThank You ADL for your contributions.

As the New York City mayoral election looms on November 4, 2025, a chilling shadow falls over the Jewish community. Leading candidate Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist with strong support from figures like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is poised to claim victory according to recent polls showing him ahead by double digits.But beneath his progressive rhetoric lies a base rife with sympathizers of radical Islamic terrorists like Hamas, as evidenced by his affiliations with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), a group criticized for anti-Israel stances, and his reluctance to condemn Hamas outright.Mamdani's rise has sparked accusations of enabling extremist views, with critics labeling him a "terrorist sympathizer" amid his inflammatory comments on Israel, including calling the Gaza conflict a "genocide."If elected, his leadership could embolden anti-Semitic forces already surging in the city, turning NYC into a hotspot for unchecked hatred against Jews. These are perilous times—Jewish New Yorkers must brace for a potential mayor whose core supporters glorify terror groups and normalize violence against our community.

The ADL Center on Extremism (COE) has tracked an alarming number of antisemitic incidents, including harassment, vandalism, and physical violence in New York City throughout 2025. This development follows ADL’s tracking of a record-breaking 976 antisemitic incidents in New York City in 2024—the highest count in any U.S. city last year and the highest count in any U.S. city since ADL has been tracking such incidents.

The brazenness and intensity of many of the 2025 incidents, and the fact that they have occurred in all five boroughs, have been especially troubling. While official totals of 2025 incidents will not be published until the release of the 2025 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents next spring, The ADL is deeply concerned by the events they vare seeing this year in New York City. This aricle I researched provides an overview of the trends that ADL has observed in the hundreds of antisemitic incidents recorded since January 1, 2025.

Trends in NYC Antisemitism Targeting of Synagogues and Jewish Institutions

This persistent trend of targeting Jewish institutions was stark in 2024, when ADL recorded 157 such incidents across New York City. Jewish communities around the country are facing an unprecedented threat environment. The risks felt by individuals who gather in synagogues and other Jewish institutions in New York City are particularly acute.

In February, for example, a man claiming to be a reincarnation of Adolf Hitler threatened to kill worshippers at a synagogue in Manhattan on Shabbat (Jewish Sabbath). In June, a student was extradited from Canada to the United States after threatening to commit an attack at a Jewish center in Brooklyn. He allegedly wrote, “We are going to attack nyc [sic] to slaughter them.” These and dozens of similar incidents erode the Jewish community’s sense of safety, instilling fear in Jewish New Yorkers while participating in core aspects of their lives as Jews, such as going to synagogue, dropping children off at Hebrew school, or volunteering at a Jewish communal institution.

This has had a measurable impact on Jewish life. I read a scary piece from The UJA-Federation of New York survey found that nearly half of Jewish adults in the New York area fear for their safety as Jews when attending specific places or events at least some of the time. Among those concerned about safety, 44 percent said this fear keeps them from attending. No New Yorker should feel they need to avoid religious or cultural events because of widespread hate. These trends demand immediate action from city leaders to restore Jewish New Yorkers’ sense of security. In this case I wish The UJA polled 100% of Jews are afraid. Jews need to be fearful in order to be better prepared. It may sound strong but the rise of Mandami brings with it his constituents who many advocate violence against Jews.In my opinion Jews will die.

Targeting of Orthodox and Visibly Jewish New YorkersNew York City is home to some of the largest Orthodox Jewish communities in the world. Members of these communities are targeted for antisemitic violence disproportionately to non-Orthodox Jewish New Yorkers.

In 2024, more than half of the anti-Jewish physical assaults in New York City targeted Orthodox Jewish victims (36 out of 69 total), though this group makes up only about one-fifth of New York City’s total Jewish population.

Observant Jewish people often wear visible markers of their Judaism, such as yarmulkes, making them vulnerable to random antisemitic attacks in public, which we fear have become increasingly normalized.

In February, at least three antisemitic assaults targeting Orthodox Jews occurred in just two days. In June, a Jewish man was attacked on the street while walking on Shabbat (Jewish Sabbath). The assailant yelled comments about Gaza and repeatedly kicked the victim, rendering him unconscious. Beyond promoting such rhetoric, some local anti-Israel groups have also actively supported those who commit antisemitic violence in New York. For example, the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter at City College and NYC Palestinian Youth Movement both posted in support and fundraised for Tarek Bazrouk, a man charged with committing three antisemitic hate crime assaults in New York in 2024 and 2025.

Antisemitism on College CampusesCollege and university campuses in New York City have become epicenters of antisemitic activity since October 7, 2023, threatening Jewish college students, faculty, and members of surrounding communities. An alarming 191 antisemitic incidents were recorded by ADL on NYC campuses in 2024—one-fifth of all incidents citywide. This high volume was concentrated at institutions like Columbia University (53 incidents—the most in the country), New York University, The New School, and the City University of New York (CUNY) system.

This disturbing trend continued into 2025. At the beginning of the spring semester at Columbia University, a group of protesters disrupted a class on Israeli history and distributed antisemitic fliers that depicted a boot stomping on the Star of David and read: "Crush Zionism" and "Burn Zionism to the ground.” At an anti-Israel protest at Washington Square Park in February, someone called Jewish New York University students "Stupid fucking Zionists, inbred f-ing idiots (Sorry aboutthe curse word)" and “Jewish Nazis.” In March, a fence at Fordham University’s law school was vandalized with: “Kill Jews.”Antisemitic incidents on college campuses have persisted into the 2025-2026 academic year, including the vandalism in September of a New York University freshman’s dorm room with the words: “Free Palestine, Jew.”

The extreme rhetoric at anti-Israel protests also regularly includes the slogan “Globalize the Intifada” or other messages that glorify and express implicit or explicit support for violence against Jews. “Intifada” refers to two Palestinian uprisings against Israel that included suicide bombings, shootings, and other attacks targeting civilians. The slogan has become a rallying cry for some since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack against Israel, and the term is widely interpreted as a call to expand such violence beyond Israel to Jewish communities worldwide.

The Bronx Anti-War Coalition held several rallies throughout the year during which protesters openly glorified terror groups and figures. In at least three events organized by the group, protesters carried a banner reading: “Glory to the Axis of Resistance,” with the logos of antisemitic U.S.-designated terror groups Hamas, Hezbollah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Houthis, and images of some of their leaders.

The trends outlined in this article indicate more than a passing surge. They provide evidence of a sustained pattern of harassment, intimidation, and violence that threatens Jewish New Yorkers’ sense of safety and belonging. Synagogues and communal institutions have been vandalized, and Orthodox and visibly Jewish New Yorkers are being attacked. Extreme anti-Zionist activity—too often laced with explicit antisemitism—has normalized dehumanizing rhetoric and endorsed violence. And our campuses have become flashpoints where Jewish students and faculty are targeted.

These trends demand a comprehensive, coordinated response from city leaders. This response must not only unequivocally condemn these attacks, but also discourage elected officials from elevating these voices, implement robust policies that prioritize protecting people of all faiths and backgrounds in schools, on the streets, and in the workplace, and hold perpetrators of anti-Jewish hate crimes fully accountable.

In this world, it is deemed "fair" to exchange 40 Israeli hostages—including 20 dead bodies—for nearly 2,000 convicted terrorists as part of the recent Gaza ceasefire deal brokered amid international pressure.In what world is that fair? These are very dangerous times to be a Jew.

I urge every person in government, community leaders, Rabbis, and Jewish education leaders to make people aware. Jewish people need to be on alert and careful these are life threatening situations. It's time to unite, pray, study Bible (Torah). Jews have done it before. Jews have prevailed when they took a proactive stance against Jewish persecution and Jews have failed when they went to execution without taking action. These Anti - Semetic incidents will only increase in my opinion. Are you ready?

Pray, Vote and be Active! - Bruce

Support the movement buy Bruce a cup of coffee - www.BruceNews.Com