New York City: A woman arrested for two antisemitic assaults
A 32-year-old woman is accused of assaulting two Jewish men in Manhattan. The incident occurs amid a rise in hate crimes in New York
A 32-year-old woman has been charged with hate crimes after being accused of assaulting two Jewish men just minutes apart on October 21 in the Manhattan neighborhood of New York. Identified as Anna Mochalova, the suspect faces, among other crimes, two counts of aggravated assault with a hate motive, as well as charges of threats, aggravated harassment, and illegal possession of weapons.
The first victim, dressed in traditional Hasidic Jewish attire, was walking on 47th Street near Fifth Avenue when he was allegedly followed by the suspect. The latter reportedly cornered him against a car before inflicting a wound to his lower back, causing a cut and bleeding.
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About five minutes later, a second man wearing a kippa was reportedly attacked near 45th Street and Sixth Avenue. According to his statement, the suspect pushed him from behind before causing him sharp pain in his forearm. The victim also claims to have been threatened in Russian. "Leave here. I have a weapon, I'll shoot you," the woman allegedly said, while making a gesture toward the inside of her jacket.
According to court documents, the suspect then allegedly asked another passerby if he was Jewish. When he reportedly replied that he was Muslim, she walked away. Anna Mochalova appeared in court on Sunday.
Her bail was set at $50,000, and her next hearing is scheduled for Thursday. These alleged assaults come as recorded hate crimes in New York have increased by nearly 13% since the beginning of the year, rising from 410 incidents during the same period in 2025 to 463 in 2026, according to New York Police Department statistics.
Antisemitic acts account for 52.9% of these incidents, representing more than half of the confirmed hate crimes in the city. However, the trend is different for the third quarter alone: 59 antisemitic acts were recorded in 2026, compared to 68 during the same period the previous year. Several other attacks targeting Jews have been reported in recent months in Manhattan, notably in a synagogue in August and near a place of worship in July.