New York DA charges man with hate crimes in Times Square antisemitic attack

A man was charged with hate crimes after he allegedly stalked and punched an Israeli tourist in an antisemitic attack in Times Square.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) announced the charges against Yehia Amin, 28, in a Tuesday press release. Amin was charged with two counts of stalking in the first degree as a hate crime, two counts of assault in the third degree as a hate crime, two counts as stalking in the third degree as a hate crime and one count of aggravated harassment in the second degree. 

As alleged, Yehia Amin taunted and punched a tourist after stalking his friends and going on a vile antisemitic tirade that spanned several minutes,” said Bragg said in a statement. “Violence stemming from hate and discrimination will not be tolerated in Manhattan. We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to hold those that cause harm accountable to ensure Manhattan is a safe place for everyone.”

The Manhattan district attorney’s office said Amin allegedly stalked and punched a 23-year-old Israeli tourist while the victim was walking with his friends through Times Square on Oct. 18. The office said that according to court documents, the victim and four of his male friends were all wearing kippahs at the time of the incident.

When the victim and his friends walked past Amin, he allegedly began to follow them and played music through a Bluetooth speaker that he later described as “Hamas music.” He also made antisemitic statements, including “Hamas should kill more of you,” “May Allah kill all the Jews,” and “All Jews should die,” according to court documents.

The group tried to report Amin to a security guard nearby, but the office said he continued to harass the group by making additional statements like, “I want to die for Gaza,” “I want to kill you,” and “I want to kill you for Gaza” as they tried to walk to a train station, according to the court documents. Ten minutes later, he allegedly sprinted up behind the victim and punched him in the back of the head.

He then fled the scene and was chased by a group. A police officer, who the office said joined the chase then caught up to arrest him, where he continued to make antisemitic statements.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said Tuesday the agency has seen a 60 percent jump in more hate crimes investigations since Oct. 7 when compared to the same period last year. He noted that “the biggest chunk of those are threats against the Jewish community,” but added there have been attacks against other groups as well.

In the weeks following the Hamas’ attack, Wray said the U.S. was reaching “historic” levels of antisemitism. During the first few weeks of the Israel-Hamas war, the Anti-Defamation League said it documented 312 antisemitic incidents — a 388 percent spike over the same period last year.

There has also been a rise in Islamophobic incidents since the war broke out. The Council on Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in October that it received 774 complaints and reported incidents of bias during the first few weeks of the war.