Israel’s Consul General in New York, Ofir Akunis, sharply attacked Mayor Zohran Mamdani over the rise in antisemitic hate crimes across New York City, accusing him of failing to protect the city’s Jewish community and of fueling hostility toward Israel.

Speaking at an event for young Jewish community leaders in New York, Akunis said: “The mayor is busy inciting against and promoting a boycott of the Jewish state. His method is the ‘well-known’ antisemitic one: ‘No matter what – blame the Jews.’ This is exactly the same method that was used a century ago by the Third Reich.”

Akunis pointed to recently released NYPD figures showing a sharp increase in antisemitic hate crimes since Mamdani took office. “This is further proof of his failure to protect the city’s Jewish community,” he said. “Mamdani continues to incite and fuel his supporters to attack the State of Israel and its Prime Minister. This must stop before it is too late!”

NYPD data for July showed that 23 of the city’s 33 confirmed hate crimes during the month targeted Jews, nearly 70% of the total. That marked a 53.3% increase from the 15 anti-Jewish incidents recorded in July 2025. Five confirmed hate crimes targeted Muslims, compared with two during the same month last year.

So far in 2026, the NYPD has recorded 360 confirmed hate crimes, up 9.4% from 329 during the same period in 2025. Of those, 205 targeted Jews, representing 56.9% of the total, while 26 targeted Muslims. Anti-Jewish hate crimes are up 8.5% year over year, while anti-Muslim incidents have increased 62.5%.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)