Nassau's Blakeman Leads NYC Rally After Hate-Crime Stabbings

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman led a rally Sunday in Manhattan near the site of a pair of hate-crime stabbings, blaming New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's anti-Israel rhetoric for fueling antisemitism in the city.

The "United Against Hate" gathering took place near Amsterdam Avenue and West 86th Street on the Upper West Side, roughly a block from where a suspect identified as Raul Morales allegedly stabbed a 50-year-old Jewish man, Moshe Yezhak Grunhaus, outside his synagogue Thursday. Morales also allegedly attacked Chok Sung, 57, a separate Asian victim, near West 84th Street and Central Park West the same day, allegedly shouting a religious phrase during the assaults.

Blakeman, who is running for governor as a Republican, placed the blame for the attacks squarely on Mamdani, who is Muslim and has repeatedly criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "There is no question that Zohran Mamdani's antisemitic rhetoric has fueled all of the antisemitism and the violence we now see in the city," Blakeman said at the rally.

The events came days after Mamdani released a video calling on the federal government to arrest Netanyahu for war crimes if he visited New York City to address the United Nations General Assembly in September — a step Mamdani later acknowledged he had no authority to take. Netanyahu, appearing on a Sunday morning television program, called the charges underlying Mamdani's demand "bogus" and accused the mayor of "fomenting hate" against Jews. Netanyahu said he plans to attend the UN General Assembly regardless.

On Sunday, some rally attendees directed their frustration at Mamdani himself, chanting for his removal from office.

Jewish community leaders at the rally pointed to Mamdani's decision early in his tenure to rescind an executive order that adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism. Linda Lichtbraun, a leader of the Zionist group HERUT New York City, said the only path forward was the mayor's removal. Moshe Spern, president of the United Jewish Teachers, said the mayor's video "helped create the climate of hate" that preceded the stabbings.

Blakeman also called for stricter criminal sentencing for hate-crime convictions and criticized Gov. Kathy Hochul's bail laws.