We wish refuah shleimah (complete recovery) to both victims of last week’s attack on a Jewish man and an Asian man in Manhattan. Hate crimes against Jewish and Asian Americans, along with other marginalized groups including our Muslim, Black, immigrant, and trans neighbors, are real, increasing, and interconnected. All communities deserve safety and care. While we know little about this attack, the mental healthcare every New Yorker deserves may be a factor. 

As we mourn the attack, we are appalled that legacy Jewish organizations have erased the Asian victim entirely and used the violence as an opportunity to further a narrative of fear about New York City’s mayor. The attack is clear evidence that all of our safety is interconnected, but these institutions chose to further isolate and endanger Jewish communities by placing Jewish lives above all others. 

They have also fueled antisemitism themselves by conflating support for the actions of Israel’s government with Jewish identity. They tacitly legitimize Trump's use of false antisemitism accusations to attack our neighbors and threaten the 2026 effort to retake Congress by falsely smearing popular Democrats. While Trump’s regime embraces authoritarianism, the actions of legacy Jewish institutions are threatening the democracy that keeps Jewish Americans, and all of us, safe.

We applaud Mayor Zohran Mamdani for using his new position to increase safety for all New Yorkers, including Jews, with a nearly ninefold increase in funding for preventing hate crimes. 

Those of us committed to fighting antisemitism must recognize that Jewish safety is bound up with the safety of all of our neighbors and refuse to ally with those who fuel antisemitism and are targeting progressive opponents, Muslims, Arabs, Palestinians, students, immigrants, and politically inconvenient Jews. 

Democracy, Jewish safety, and the safety of all our neighbors are at stake.

Jamie Beran,
CEO, Bend the Arc