In NYC Stabbings, Only Some Victims and Narratives Matter

Ari Paul

A New York Times story (7/24/26) about the stabbing of two men—one Asian, one Jewish—includes the word "Asian" twice and the word "Jewish" 24 times.

The nonfatal stabbings of two individuals in Manhattan, allegedly by a man shouting “Allahu akbar”—or “God is the greatest” in Arabic—has drawn a lot of media attention, most of which centered on the fact that one of the victims was a Jewish man. (He was leaving a synagogue wearing a yarmulke—Fox 5, 7/24/26.) The fact that his first victim was Asian was almost completely lost in the media narrative.

At the New York Times (7/24/26), reporter Liam Stack (with the help of five other reporters) produced more than 1,000 words about how the stabbing reignited the question of whether Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s criticism of the Israeli government has fueled hatred against Jews generally. The Asian victim fell in the background.

AP (7/25/26), by contrast, was somewhat more balanced:

The Jewish victim was attacked just after leaving a nearby synagogue, called the Jewish Center, Rabbi Yosie Levine said.

“He was just trying to pray at his synagogue, and now we’re the ones praying for his recovery,” Levine said.

The Asian American Foundation, a New York-based advocacy group, said in a statement the attacks “underscore the persistent safety challenges” and mistreatment—from harassment to physical assault—facing Asian Americans in the city.

'A culture of denigration'

Saying that Zohran Mamdani "accuses Jews of genocide" (Wall Street Journal, 7/24/26) is like saying that critics of Vladimir Putin accuse Orthodox Christians of invading Ukraine.

The Wall Street Journal (7/24/26) offered an editorial titled “Globalizing the Intifada in Mamdani’s New York” with the subhead, “As the mayor accuses Jews of genocide, a Jewish man is stabbed.” Mamdani, of course, did not accuse "Jews" of genocide; he accused the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of committing genocide, as have Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and, most relevantly, the International Criminal Court (X, 7/22/26; Guardian, 7/22/26).

The Journal board said:

Mr. Mamdani isn’t responsible for Thursday’s stabbing. But he is responsible for promoting a culture of denigration that is all too easy for a fevered mind to hear and conclude that violence against Jews is acceptable. The mayor and his ideological groupies are playing with antisemitic fire.

The New York Post (7/24/26) was slightly more direct in its editorial. “Mamdani needs to admit that his speech has consequences,” the board said. “Quit fanning the flames, Mr. Mayor. Just stop.”

And several outlets covered a pro-Israel rally where speakers blamed the mayor’s support for Palestinians for violence against Jews. “Every word that comes out of his mouth—his obsessive Jew hatred, his obsessive hatred of Western ideology—is causing violence,” EndJewHatred director Michelle Ahdoot was quoted at WPIX (7/26/26).

The free paper amNY (7/26/26) covered the rally, saying that some laid the “blame at the feet of Mamdani for recent criticisms Hizzoner made about Benjamin Netanyahu, stating that the prime minister of Israel is not welcome in New York.” “Some members of the Jewish community feel as though these statements put them at risk,” the paper added. It included dramatic images from the Manhattan rally, including a pro-Israel protester flipping off pro-Palestine ultra-Orthodox Jewish demonstrators.

'I know he's dead'

NBC4's Melissa Russo (Instagram, 7/22/26) wondered why Mamdani didn't promise to arrest Hamas's leaders "if circumstances were different"—i.e., if they were alive.

Corporate media are eager to platform those who constantly assert that Mamdani’s criticism of Israel is an attack on all Jews—in this case, that his choice to focus on one political leader, Netanyahu, counts as provocation against the Jews. The media’s attempt to box the mayor in here could be seen in a press conference directly after the speech about Netanyahu. In a transcript released by his office, a reporter (NBC 4's Melissa Russo) asked:

Some Jewish groups have noted that in your video you didn't include a reference to October 7 or Hamas leaders who carried out that attack. And it's not easy always to pin you down on this subject, forgive me, because there aren't many perfect analogies to draw. For instance, not all world leaders or alleged war criminals have ICC warrants, or they're not planning to come to the UN General Assembly, or perhaps they're dead.

So, my question is would you, if circumstances were different, would you have vowed to arrest the leaders of Hamas, who perpetrated the October 7 attack, if they were visiting New York? And if so, why not include something about that to show New Yorkers that you're presenting a more balanced approach? Why not include that in your video?

Quick on his feet, the mayor responded, “Didn't the ICC put forward a warrant for Yahya Sinwar?”—referring to the Hamas leader who was killed by Israel (AP, 10/18/24). To which Russo responded, “I mean, I know he's dead.” The mayor followed up:

Yes, but my point is that they did. And in the video, I made very clear, as I have before, that my interest in executing that warrant is not specific to Benjamin Netanyahu, but to anyone who they put a warrant towards for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

One has to almost admire the bravery to ask such a stupid question: Why didn’t you call for the arrest of someone who died two years ago? Alas, here we are.

'More mindful about [some] rhetoric'

There's a downside to not talking about war crimes (Al Jazeera, 6/19/26).

But how can only one of the two victims in the stabbing coverage matter? While it has been a few years, Asian communities in the city have protested against waves of anti-Asian crimes (WNBC, 3/21/21; New York Times, 3/22/21).

We don’t know what was going on this stabber’s head—New Yorkers are all too accustomed to the fact that he may very well likely be deranged with little discernible motive. But if such an attack can be used to beat up on Mamdani’s pro-Palestine positions, why is there no exploration into whether constant fearmongering about China from the White House is responsible for the stabbing of an Asian person? Why is there not as much attention to how Asian communities are feeling about this?

“Elected officials and Jewish leaders demanded Friday that politicians be more mindful about their rhetoric around Israel. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s name came up several times,” Politico (7/24/26) reported. The same statement about right-wing politicians and their views on China doesn’t get the same kind of treatment.

And there’s another problem: All of this digression about how incendiary Mamdani’s comments about Netanyahu may have been helped bury the news Mamdani was trying to highlight: that the Israeli leader and his government have been accused of heinous crimes against humanity. UNICEF spokesperson James Elder (6/19/26) said during a press briefing  in Geneva:

For many, many months, the world has been told there is a ceasefire in Gaza. Yet for Palestinian children, this so-called ceasefire has become a cruel and deadly illusion.

Since the ceasefire was announced in October 2025, 265 Palestinian children have been killed across Gaza. That is an absurd and devastating figure. During a period supposedly defined by restraint and protection, a child has been killed, on average, every single day for more than eight months.

Let us be clear about what this means. These children were not killed in a war zone. They were killed in their homes. In their schools. Playing football. Fishing. They were shot, bombed and struck by quadcopters.

The double standard is telling when it comes to who matters for the media, and which narratives are worthy of repeating.