NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Police are searching for two women who allegedly assaulted a Jewish woman and ripped off her Star of David necklace after she confronted them for tearing down posters of Hamas hostages on the Upper West Side on Thursday night.
The NYPD released images of the two suspects Friday as the department's Hate Crimes Task Force investigates the assault, which comes amid a 200% spike in antisemitic hate crimes in the city this year.
The 41-year-old victim was at West 82nd Street and Riverside Drive when she saw the women removing posters from a light pole that depicted people kidnapped during Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
She confronted them and started recording them with her cellphone, according to police, who said they responded by assaulting her.
During the attack, they ripped a Star of David necklace off her neck and also knocked her cellphone to the ground, damaging it, police said. They then fled the scene.
The victim suffered minor injuries to her face and neck. Police said she declined further medical attention at the scene.
The latest NYPD crime statistics released this month show there was a 124% increase in hate crimes in October compared to October 2022, driven by a 214% spike in antisemitic hate crimes as the Israel-Hamas war continues.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.





