Rami Glikstein, a 58-year-old Israeli educator and IDF lecturer, was violently assaulted in an antisemitic incident while walking to the kosher restaurant “Mr. Broadway” in Manhattan, Ynet reported.
Glikstein, visiting the US with his family, was approached by a man who pointed at his kippah and demanded, “Tell me what your religion is.” When Glikstein tried to walk away, the attacker threw his kippah to the ground, spat on it, and struck him in the face. Glikstein was later treated at a hospital.
Israel’s Consul General in New York, Ofir Akunis, spoke with Glikstein following the attack and said, “The attack is a direct result of the daily incitement worldwide, including in the US, against Jews and Israel.”
Akunis warned that unchecked lies, blood libels, and calls for another October 7 massacre are fueling violence. “All US public leaders must immediately and forcefully condemn the attack and the calls for violence,” he added.
The incident comes amid a sharp rise in antisemitism in New York City and across the US, following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
A report published by the New York Police Department this past January found that antisemitic hate crimes in New York City rose seven percent from 2023 to 2024.