Jewish woman’s hair torn out in antisemitic NY subway assault

Brooklyn woman attacks Jewish subway rider while accusing Jews of “eating children.”

By World Israel News Staff

A Jewish woman was assaulted on a New York City subway train after another passenger shouted antisemitic accusations at her, according to police and video of the incident.

The attack happened Sunday afternoon on a northbound C train at the Canal Street station in Manhattan, CBS News New York reported. Police arrested Diana Smith, 23, of the Bronx, in connection with the assault.

Smith faces several charges, including hate crime and aggravated harassment.

The victim, a 23-year-old Jewish woman who asked not to be identified, said the assailant made antisemitic remarks before attacking her.

“She lunged at me. She choked me twice. She kicked me. She ripped my hair out,” the victim told CBS News. “It was a hate crime against the Jewish community. This wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t Jewish.”

Video shared with the Combat Antisemitism Movement and published online showed a woman on the train yelling, “Jews are eating kids!” and telling the victim, “I smell the kids.”

In the video, the victim can be heard saying, “Don’t touch me,” before the woman appears to reach toward her. Other passengers then react and briefly restrain the woman.

The victim later turns the camera toward herself and says, “I was just assaulted!”

The victim said only two witnesses briefly stepped in to help.

“It was shocking that bystanders … just no one doing anything, and to the point where I was beaten to the ground,” she said. “People are much stronger as a community.”

Lisa Katz, chief government affairs officer at the Combat Antisemitism Movement, said the assault reflected a broader escalation in anti-Jewish hostility.

“Antisemitism has now moved from just words to actual violence,” Katz told CBS. “We have tracked 193 incidents of antisemitism in New York City this year through May 31 and that equates to more than one per day.”

The attack came as New York City reported a rise in hate crimes despite a broader decline in major crime. CBS cited police data showing hate crimes up 8.6% year to date compared with the same period last year.

Separate NYPD data cited in recent reports showed anti-Jewish hate crimes continued to make up the largest share of confirmed hate crimes in the city. In May, police recorded 41 confirmed anti-Jewish hate crimes, up from 24 in May 2025.

Police said the subway case is being treated as a hate crime.