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Suspect charged with hate crimes for allegedly attacking Israeli near Times Square after outbreak of Israel-Hamas war
(New York Jewish Week) — The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office indicted a suspect on hate crimes charges for allegedly attacking an Israeli tourist near Times Square on Oct. 18.
The indictment, filed Tuesday, came as the NYPD released hate crimes statistics showing a sustained surge in antisemitic incidents since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
According to the indictment, in the Times Square incident 11 days after the Hamas attack, defendant Yehia Amin, 28, allegedly stalked and punched a 23-year-old Jewish Israeli who was walking with four friends at around 9:30 p.m. The Jewish men were all wearing kippahs when they passed by Amin, who recognized them as Jewish and began to pursue them.
Amin taunted the group, telling them, “Hamas should kill more of you,” “May Allah kill all the Jews,” and “All Jews should die,” according to the District Attorney’s Office. While Amin pursued the Israelis, he blasted music from his bluetooth speaker that he later described as “Hamas music.
The Jewish group tried to report Amin to a security guard, then headed to a train station to leave Times Square, but Amin continued following them, saying, “All Jews are crybabies,” and “I want to kill you for Gaza,” the indictment says. After around 10 minutes of harassment, Amin ran up behind the victim and punched him in the back of the head, causing substantial pain and minor injuries.
Amin fled the scene and the Israeli tourist and his friends followed him. A police officer joined the pursuit, caught Amin, and arrested him. While under arrest, Amin continued to shout antisemitic statements, including, “God kill all the Jewish people,” the District Attorney’s Office said.
Amin was charged with stalking in the first degree as a hate crime; assault in the third degree as a hate crime; and stalking in the third degree as a hate crime. He was also indicted for one count of aggravated harassment in the second degree. The case is being handled by the New York State Supreme Court.
“Violence stemming from hate and discrimination will not be tolerated,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement announcing the charges.
This is the latest of a few indictments from Bragg’s office for anti-Jewish hate crimes. Late last month, two women were charged after allegedly attacking a passerby who confronted them while they were tearing down posters of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. The week after the war started, a 19-year-old was charged for attacking an Israeli on the Columbia University campus.
Also Tuesday, the NYPD released hate crimes data for last month, indicating that a previously documented surge in antisemitic crimes in the city since Oct. 7 has continued.
There were 62 antisemitic hate crimes reported to police in November, averaging more than two incidents per day. The figure for antisemitic incidents last month represented a 32% increase over the same period last year, and was similar to the 69 antisemitic attacks reported in October. Anti-Jewish incidents made up 65% of all hate crimes reported to police last month. There were seven anti-Muslim hate crimes.
Since Jan. 1, there have been 294 anti-Jewish hate crimes, according to the NYPD. During the first 11 months of last year, when the total number of hate crimes against all groups were higher, there were 253 antisemitic incidents. Jewish security groups have said many antisemitic attacks likely go unreported. Recent incidents have included graffiti, physical assaults and threats. Jewish groups have also reported a spike in antisemitism nationally since Oct. 7.
Before the outbreak of the war, the previous high-water mark for antisemitic incidents this year was in March, which saw 32 antisemitic incidents reported to police.
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The post Suspect charged with hate crimes for allegedly attacking Israeli near Times Square after outbreak of Israel-Hamas war appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.