A Jewish rabbi visiting New York for the first time was brutally assaulted in broad daylight on a busy Manhattan street, yet the NYPD refuses to classify this attack as a hate crime.
Story Highlights
- Israeli rabbi Rami Glickstein suffered broken nose and brain bleeding after attacker targeted his kippah
- Assailant demanded “Tell me about your religion” before snatching religious head covering and spitting on it
- NYPD controversially refuses hate crime classification despite clear religious targeting
- Attack represents latest in surge of antisemitic violence plaguing New York City since October 2023
Brazen Religious Attack in Midtown Manhattan
On Monday, October 28, 2025, Rabbi Rami Glickstein, a 58-year-old Israeli Defense Forces chaplain and educator from Jerusalem, was walking toward Mr. Broadway kosher restaurant on West 38th Street when an unknown assailant approached him with a disturbing demand. The attacker specifically asked Glickstein to “tell me about your religion” before launching into a vicious assault that targeted the rabbi’s religious identity. When Glickstein remained silent, the assailant grabbed his kippah, threw it to the ground, spat on the sacred head covering, and punched the rabbi in the face as he bent down to retrieve it.
Watch: Jewish tourist attacked while walking in Midtown, NYPD says
The force of the punch sent Glickstein flying into the bike lane, leaving him with a broken nose and bleeding on the brain. This father of seven and grandfather of twelve, whose own father survived the Holocaust, required immediate hospitalization at Mount Sinai Hospital. The attack occurred in broad daylight on one of Manhattan’s busiest commercial blocks near Times Square, with multiple Jewish witnesses calling police and ambulances to assist the bloodied victim.
Jewish tourist beaten to pulp on bustling Manhattan street https://t.co/36CwNuB3kF
— Blue Lives Matter (@RetiredNYCPD) October 29, 2025
NYPD’s Controversial Hate Crime Denial
Despite the attacker’s explicit focus on Glickstein’s religion and deliberate desecration of his religious head covering, the NYPD has refused to classify this assault as a hate crime. The department claims the suspect has mental health issues and allegedly attacked other non-Jewish pedestrians earlier that day, somehow negating the clear antisemitic motivation displayed during Glickstein’s assault. This determination flies in the face of obvious evidence showing religious targeting, including the attacker’s demand about religion and his specific focus on destroying the kippah.
Escalating Pattern of Anti-Jewish Violence
This attack represents the latest incident in a documented surge of antisemitic violence plaguing New York City since October 7, 2023. Recent cases include Vincent Sumpter’s stabbing of Israeli yeshiva student Yechiel Michel Dobruskin while shouting “Free Palestine,” missing the victim’s heart by mere centimeters. Tariq Bazruk, who claimed family ties to Hamas terrorists, received 17 months in prison for attacking Jews during pro-Palestinian demonstrations near Columbia University.
Despite suffering serious physical and psychological trauma, Rabbi Glickstein demonstrated remarkable resilience, stating “I will come back. I am not afraid. Most all the people in New York are very good people.” However, his additional comment reveals the deeper impact: “It’s not the pain. It’s not the punch. It’s the thought that a Jewish man like me can’t go safely in this lovely city.” This courageous response highlights both his personal strength and the broader threat facing Jewish visitors and residents in America’s largest city.
Sources:
Midtown tourist attacked: Rabbi from Jerusalem sucker punched during first visit to NYC
Israeli tourist attacked in NYC, NYPD says not hate crime
