Overview
- A Bronx man, Larry Montes, was arrested and charged with multiple counts including four hate‑crime assault charges after forcing his way into Central Synagogue during Shabbat, striking a 63‑year‑old congregant, spitting at and head‑butting a security member, and damaging the sanctuary.
- The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force and Manhattan prosecutors are investigating but have not determined a clear motive, and prosecutors say Montes called worshippers “fake Jews” after his arrest.
- Reporting by outlets that reviewed Montes’s social media and family statements shows a complex profile — prior arrests, past police records listing him as an emotionally disturbed person, public posts with pro‑Israel views and a reported desire to convert to Judaism — that complicates simple political explanations.
- Separately, Kehilat Kol HaNeshama in Jerusalem suffered a break‑in and vandalism during the same Shabbat, with a smashed window, torn pride flag and damaged photos in an act Israeli Reform leaders described as likely driven by intra‑Jewish hostility.
- The incidents have heightened community fear and calls for increased synagogue security, fueled international political attacks that use Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s statements in campaign messaging, and set the spotlight on the outcome of the hate‑crime probe and the pending criminal case.