A Jewish man was stabbed in the chest steps from a major synagogue in Brooklyn — and the attacker shouted he wanted to kill Jews before pulling out a knife.
Story Highlights
- Elias Rosner, 35, was stabbed in the chest near Chabad headquarters in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, during Hanukkah after his attacker shouted antisemitic threats
- The New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) Hate Crimes Task Force investigated the attack; suspect Armani Charles, 23, later surrendered and was charged with multiple hate crimes
- Jewish New Yorkers account for 60% of all confirmed hate crimes in the city, despite making up only about 10% of the population
- Antisemitic hate crimes in New York City jumped 71% in May 2026 compared to the same month the prior year
Stabbing Outside a Synagogue During Hanukkah
Around 4:10 p.m. on December 16, 2025, Elias Rosner stepped out of a synagogue on Kingston Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. A stranger approached him and began shouting antisemitic threats. “I’m going to kill a Jew today,” the attacker said, according to Rosner. The man also said the Holocaust “would have been alright.” Rosner said he was the only one who looked the attacker in the eye — and that made him a target.
The attacker walked away, but Rosner followed him down the block. The argument erupted again and turned physical. The suspect pulled out a knife and stabbed Rosner once in the chest. The blade came within centimeters of his heart. Rosner credited his thick sweater — and his martial arts training — with saving his life. He was treated at Kings County Hospital and released. The suspect fled the scene.
Suspect Charged With Hate Crimes
Police released surveillance images of the suspect right away and sent extra officers to Crown Heights. The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force led the investigation. The suspect, identified as 23-year-old Armani Charles of Brooklyn, turned himself in voluntarily about a week later. Prosecutors charged Charles with attempted assault, assault, aggravated harassment, and menacing — all classified as hate crimes. Rosner told the New York Post he was relieved. “I appreciate the diligent efforts and communication of the NYPD,” he said. [13]
A separate attack also occurred that same week. On Monday — just one day before the Rosner stabbing — a man grabbed 20-year-old Menachem Raichman, an Orthodox Jewish man, by the collar on a Brooklyn subway train. Witnesses say the attackers shouted “f*** the Jews” and “I’ll kill you.” The New York City Police Department said it was investigating that case as an assault but had not confirmed it as a bias-based attack. Two violent incidents targeting Jewish New Yorkers in two days rattled the Crown Heights community. [7]
A City With a Growing Antisemitism Problem
These attacks are not isolated. New York City’s own police data show antisemitic hate crimes jumped 71% in May 2026 compared to the same month a year earlier. Jewish residents make up roughly 10% of the city’s population but account for 60% of all confirmed hate crimes. [17] In some months, anti-Jewish hate crimes outnumber every other group’s hate crimes combined. That is a staggering imbalance that demands serious attention.
The trend has been building for years. Monthly anti-Jewish hate crimes in New York City have nearly doubled since 2021. Attacks on Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn rose 39% in 2025 alone, with 70% of those incidents being physical assaults. [19] Research also shows anti-Jewish hate crimes are far more likely to be felonies than other hate crimes — yet they result in arrests at nearly half the rate. [22] That gap in justice is hard to ignore. New York’s leaders need to treat this surge as the crisis it is, not a political inconvenience.
Sources:
[7] Web – NYPD probes Hanukkah-week stabbing, subway incident in Brooklyn
[13] Web – Suspect accused of stabbing Jewish man in Brooklyn is charged …
[17] YouTube – NYPD Hate Crimes investigates multiple anti-Jewish incidents in …
[19] Web – Antisemitic hate crimes spiked in New York City last month — police …
[22] Web – What Police Stats Really Say About Antisemitism in New York City
These crimes against Jews must stop. The killing of people for no reason other than their ethnic background is murder. Jews are not the blame for most of the problems of the world as these Jew haters must think. Christians worship a savior who was in his humanity a Jew, thus no Christian should hate Jews. I am certain nearly everyone of these acts of anti-semetism was done by anti-Christians.
Hate crime! A Bull Shit charge. Hate is a emotion, you can not make laws against emotions. If ones emotions lead them to do something that is a crime, then you punish them for the crime! Not the emotion that led up to the crime. If somebody is having a crime committed against them. To give them less consideration than you would another victim because the second victim was hated by the criminal, is telling the first victim that because he was not hated he is less important and deserves less protection.