‘We’ll never back down’: Chabad rabbi returns to NYC Diamond District day after antisemitic stabbing

The Cabad rabbi said he drew strength from his grandparents, Holocaust survivors who rebuilt their lives and raised a proud Jewish family.

By Gabriel Ostrovsky, The Algemeiner

A 26-year-old Chabad rabbi returned to the streets of Manhattan’s Diamond District on Thursday, less than 24 hours after being stabbed in the back in a suspected antisemitic attack, determined to continue helping Jewish New Yorkers practice their faith.

The young rabbi, identified only as Yosef, was back on West 47th Street visiting Jewish merchants, helping them put on tefillin—the small leather boxes containing Torah passages worn during Jewish prayer—and encouraging them to perform mitzvahs, or Jewish commandments.

His return came just a day after a woman allegedly pursued him through the busy commercial district before stabbing him with what investigators believe may have been a large syringe.

According to Chabad.org, Yosef, a Crown Heights resident who recently received rabbinic ordination, travels to Midtown Manhattan daily to engage with Jewish businessmen and share Torah teachings.

On Wednesday, shortly before 6 pm, he noticed a woman following him along West 47th Street, the heart of New York City’s heavily Jewish diamond trade.

Surveillance footage reportedly shows the woman ignoring other pedestrians and closely pursuing Yosef as he attempted to put distance between them.

As he stepped into the street, he felt a sharp pain in his lower back.

The suspect, who remains at large, was also reportedly seen pursuing another visibly Jewish man before targeting Yosef.

Yosef was transported to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition. The New York Police Department’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident as a possible antisemitic attack.

According to CBS News, the victim told investigators that the woman had been speaking Russian and making harassing remarks before attacking him.

Despite the ordeal, Yosef wasted little time returning to his daily religious outreach.

Speaking to Chabad.org on Thursday, he acknowledged that the attack had rattled him but said he drew strength from the example of his grandparents, Holocaust survivors who rebuilt their lives and raised a proud Jewish family.

He said he was determined to respond to the violence by embracing his Jewish identity rather than concealing it.

The attack comes amid an alarming surge in antisemitic incidents across New York City.

As previously reported by The Algemeiner, Jews were targeted in more than half of all confirmed hate crimes in the city during the first six months of 2026, despite representing roughly 10 percent of its population.