Knifeman screamed 'I'm going to kill a Jew today' as he stabbed man in chest on New York City street
By Lauren Acton-Taylor
Daily Mail
Dec 17, 2025
Elias Rosner, 35, got into an argument with the unidentified knifeman as he was walking down the street in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, just after 4pm on Tuesday
New York City police are on the hunt for a knifeman who stabbed a Jewish man in the chest after yelling 'I'm going to kill a Jew today.'
Elias Rosner, 35, got into an argument with the unidentified knifeman as he was walking down the street in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, just after 4pm on Tuesday.
Rosner, a member of the Lubavitch Hasidic community, told the New York Post about the knifeman's horrifying anti-Semitic rant.
'I was waiting in a crowd of Jewish people and this guy started spouting stuff,' he continued. '"I'm going to kill Jewish people, I'm going to kill a Jew today, I don't give a f***, we wouldn't be in this mess if the Holocaust had happened."'
According to Rosner, the man looked 'very serious' as he spouted the terrifying threats. 'I guess I was the one guy that had the bravery to look him in the eye,' he added.
'So, he was waiting. He set a trap up for me a block ahead. He came around the corner and it just started happening.'
Police described the incident as 'seemingly random' after the two bumped into each other on the street.
'The unidentified individual made anti-Jewish statements and then proceeded to stab the victim in the chest with a knife,' according to the NYPD.
New York City police are hunting for an unidentified man who stabbed Rosner, a Jewish man, in the chest barely missing his heart
Rosner recalled that as the man brandished his knife he prepared to fight.
'I believe in standing up to bullies,' he told the outlet. 'I knew it was on. I luckily had taken off my sweater to use as a sarong to catch the blade. I could tell he wasn't going to be doing anything fancy.'
He said he was able to catch 'most of the force' from the knife with his sweater and 'that's basically what saved my life.'
The knife went through Rosner's chest near his heart, but he left the confrontation without serious injury.
Yaacov Behrman, a rabbi and spokesperson for the Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters, wrote on X that the suspect allegedly said 'F*** the Jews' and 'that it would be okay if the Holocaust happened today.'
Rosner was admitted to Kings County Hospital and later released.
'This was an antisemitic attack,' Behrman wrote. 'Hateful rhetoric always leads to violence.'
Footage of the attack has been circulating on social media as Rosner and the knifeman got into the dispute.
Video showed him following the suspect after their confrontation, at which point he turned and stabbed Rosner.
'The unidentified individual made anti-Jewish statements and then proceeded to stab the victim in the chest with a knife,' according to the NYPD
Rosner said he was able to stop the full force of the knife thanks to his sweater
The suspect was last seen wearing jeans and a black varsity jacket with the word 'Genuine' on the back and '91' on the arm, images released from the NYPD showed.
The rabbi told the Gothamist that the attack has stirred concern for more serious attacks that may follow 'unless people openly call out hate.'
'After losing friends in Australia on Sunday, it is painfully clear that the world is once again dangerous for Jews,' Behrman continued in his post.
The Jewish community has been mourning the attack on Bondi Beach that killed 16 people during a Hanukkah celebration, Behrman told the outlet, including the death of rabbi Eli Schlanger who attended school in Crown Heights and still has family in New York.
'Almost every family in Crown Heights knows somebody or is related to somebody who was either present at the attack, was injured or killed,' he continued.
'This is absolutely a wake-up call for us that things are dangerous for Jews in New York and things are dangerous for Jews worldwide.'
Rosner said that the conflict in Gaza has stoked more antisemitic sentiments, and added: 'It used to be when I was a kid we’d come out from a party late at night, and the worst thing we had to worry about was [a] stop and frisk.'
'Nowadays, it’s a lot tougher, but my motto is, "If you stay ready, you ain’t got to be ready."'
Yaacov Behrman, a rabbi and spokesperson for the Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters, said: 'This is absolutely a wake-up call for us that things are dangerous for Jews in New York and things are dangerous for Jews worldwide'
Rabbi Eli Shlanger, 41, was a victim of the Bondi Beach shooting in Australia during a Hanukkah celebration and attended school in Crown Heights, with some family still in NYC
He added: 'Here in America, everybody has a right to live free of oppression, and we also have to stand up to bullies who are trying to take that away from people.'
Mayor Eric Adams wrote on X: 'Evil, hateful, antisemitic violence must come to an end. We cannot let this hate persist in our city, and we will never back down.'
'We are praying for this man and his family, and NYPD's Hate Crimes Division is investigating this incident as we speak,' he added.
Officials have increased police presence around synagogues and menorah lightings following the attack in Australia, according to the Gothamist.
No comments:
Post a Comment