Find articles

Manhattan prosecutors charged a woman with hate crimes over the weekend after she was accused of stabbing two Jewish men with a syringe and needle in Midtown.

New York City is running a segregated school system. That is the charge the National Jewish Advocacy Center, which I lead, has asked the Justice Department to investigate: antisemitic hostility is driving Jewish children out of the public schools, officials are failing to protect their right to remain, and Title IV of the Civil Rights ...

The New York City benefit drew more than 800 attendees and raised a record $32 million in the fight against antisemitism and other forms of hate.

A Jewish man was stalked and then stabbed by a woman who stalked him on a busy Midtown street during the Wednesday evening rush, police sources said. The victim, 26 – wearing traditional Jewish garb – was walking on Fifth Avenue near West 47th Street in the Diamond District just before 6 p.m. when a...

INTIFADA FLARE UP: One of New York City’s most prestigious public high schools is facing backlash because a school-based socialist youth group co-signed a social media post declaring “Intifada Until Victory!” The Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter of Stuyvesant High School — along with YDSA chapters at Hunter College, the New School, City College and Lehman College — all signed onto an Oct. 8 Instagram post that accused the Democratic Socialists of America’s New York City chapter of silencing student activists who wanted to protest Mayor Zohran Mamdani over Israel. The groups accused the democratic socialist mayor of betraying the Palestinian cause and blasted his decision to keep NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch in her position, referring to her as a “Zionist billionaire.” The term intifada — which refers to violent uprisings against Jews in Israel — is viewed by many Jews as a call to violence against them. Moshe Spern, president of United Jewish Teachers — an advocacy group representing Jewish teachers and students across the city — is demanding the posts be removed immediately and that the YDSA group provide a public apology to the school community. “NYC public schools have seen hundreds of antisemitic and anti-Israel incidents since October 7, 2023,” he wrote in an email yesterday to Stuyvesant Principal Seung Yu and New York City Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels. “When a school-recognized club amplifies this rhetoric, it risks contributing to a hostile environment.” In the missive, Spern invoked Title VI — the federal law that bans discrimination based on race, shared ancestry and national origin — and demanded a review of the YDSA chapter’s charter, faculty adviser and recent activities for compliance. Spern also cited a chancellor’s regulation that states that student clubs operate under the principal’s supervision and must remain consistent with the school’s educational goals. Yu did not respond to requests for comment. Mamdani’s Department of Education also did not respond to Playbook. Spern told Playbook today that he has yet to receive a response from Yu. “To flat out ignore it is extremely irresponsible,” he said. The NYC-DSA defended the organization. “We support the right to organize,” NYC-DSA co-Chair Gustavo Gordillo said in a statement. “NYC-DSA did not organize or endorse this particular rally, but red scare tactics have never been effective tools for engaging with student movements.” The social media uproar is the latest flashpoint in ongoing tensions in the city over Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the war that followed. Mamdani, a longtime critic of Israel, was reluctant to condemn the term “globalize the intifada” on the campaign trail last year before finally saying he will not use the term . He also drew bipartisan backlash over his statement marking the third anniversary of the attack. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu labeled the mayor an antisemite , which Mamdani has denied. Mamdani, though, has also simultaneously faced backlash from pro-Palestinian activists who accused him of betraying the Palestinian cause by retaining Tisch, who’s Jewish and a self-described Zionist. Those critics have also criticized him for not doing enough to prevent local synagogues from holding events that promote land sales in Israel, some of them in the occupied West Bank. — Madina Touré From the Capitol Q’S LATEST: Gov. Kathy Hochul has a 55-41 lead over Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman, a Quinnipiac University poll released this afternoon found. That 14-point advantage is narrower than the 19-point lead Quinnipiac gave Hochul last month. But it’s more in line with the numbers from other pollsters: Marist found Hochul up by 11 two weeks ago, Emerson had Hochul up 12 in early October, and Siena measured her lead at 9 points last month. Despite Hochul’s lead, the Q Poll concluded Blakeman has an enthusiasm advantage. A total of 65% of his backers were “very enthusiastic” to support him, w…