Rabbi Punched In Antisemitic Attack En Route To NYC Synagogue: NYPD

QUEENS, NY — A rabbi was punched en route to a Queens synagogue in the latest "sickening" antisemitic attack in NYC over the past couple of weeks, police and elected officials said.

Officials say the rabbi was walking in Forest Hills when a stranger punched him in the face while yelling antisemitic slurs. The attack came just as Jews worldwide marked Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Police report the assault took place around 3 p.m. Tuesday at the corner of Queens Blvd. and 71st Ave. The suspect shouted an anti-Jewish slur, struck the rabbi in the face and chest, then fled on foot.

The victim, whose identity has not been released, received treatment on-site for minor injuries.

"I’m horrified by the antisemitic assault on a rabbi in Forest Hills," Mayor Mamdani wrote on X. "On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, New Yorkers were confronted with a painful truth: antisemitism is not a thing of the past—it is a present danger that demands action from all of us."

Eric Zafra-Grosso, 32, was arrested yesterday for the attack and charged with aggravated harassment, hate crime, assault and other offenses, according to New York City court records.

Elected officials condemned the attack, which follows the unsettling discovery of Nazi symbols scrawled at a Brooklyn playground amid a wave of antisemitic crimes in the borough.

U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens), alongside New York State Sens. Joseph Addabbo and Leroy Comrie, Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi, Sam Berger, and Councilwoman Lynn Schulman, said:

“No one should ever fear for their safety because of their religion, identity, or beliefs. The rise in antisemitic incidents across our city and country is deeply concerning, and this attack—occurring on Holocaust Remembrance Day—underscores the urgent responsibility we all share to confront hate before it escalates to violence.”

Other elected officials voicing outrage included Gov. Kathy Hochul and Sen. Chuck Schumer, who called on officials to do all in their power to end these "rancid acts of antisemitism.

"There is no place for antisemitism in our city. I stand in solidarity with Jewish New Yorkers and my administration is committed to rooting out this hatred," Mamdani added.