A Jewish man was attacked and slashed in the face Tuesday morning while walking through the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. The victim, a local resident in his late 20s, was approached by an assailant in a ski mask who stabbed him without any apparent provocation.

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital in serious but stable condition and is expected to require surgery.

“This is a very serious incident, and the Jewish Future Alliance is deeply concerned about it. Witnesses at the scene testified that it was unprovoked,” said Yaacov Berman, a liaison for Chabad Headquarters.

The attack follows a troubling trend of rising antisemitic incidents in New York City and across the United States. In a recent analysis, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli highlighted that antisemitic crimes accounted for 65% of all felony hate crimes in New York City last year. Statewide, nearly 44% of all hate crimes and 88% of religious-based hate crimes targeted Jewish individuals.

This increase in antisemitic violence reflects a nationwide spike in anti-Jewish hate crimes. According to a recent FBI report, American Jews remain the most targeted religious group in the country, with incidents reaching record highs last year. Reports suggest that much of the antisemitic surge followed the October 7 massacre in southern Israel carried out by Hamas, coinciding with the ongoing war in Gaza.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)