Republican state attorney general candidate Saritha Komatireddy on Friday vowed to declare a state of emergency over soaring antisemitism, if elected — following the terrifying syringe stabbing of a young rabbi in the Diamond District this week.
Komatireddy — a former federal prosecutor running against Democratic incumbent Attorney General Letitia James — made the promise while speaking from the site of Wednesday’s attack, where a woman was filmed stalking 26-year-old Yousef Krish before apparently plunging a syringe into his back.
“When I am attorney general, I will declare a state of emergency on antisemitism on day one,” Komatireddy told reporters.
She noted that despite Jewish New Yorkers making up roughly 10-12% of the Big Appel’s population, they have faced more than 50% of all confirmed hate crimes this year, according to NYPD statistics released this month.
“Every Jewish New Yorker is feeling the rise of hate in our city and in our state,” Komatireddy said.
In what could be the most recent incident in the ongoing spate of anti-Jewish hate, Krish was walking along West 47th Street at around 6 p.m. during the evening bustle when a Russian-speaking woman began harassing him, according to police and law enforcement sources.
Video showed him trying to evade her and dodging into the street — but she followed and then jabbed him in the back with something sharp, the sources said. He was taken to a hospital in stable condition after the attack.
“I’m still shaken,” Krish, a Brooklyn resident, told Jewish digital platform Chabad.org. “I never imagined I’d be stabbed simply for being Jewish, right here in New York City.”
Krish, who recently received his rabbinic ordination, makes the trek from Crown Heights to Midtown daily to share religious teachings with Jewish merchants in the area, the outlet reported.
“As I try to make sense of what happened, I keep thinking about my grandparents,” he told Chabad.org. “They survived the Holocaust, experienced the worst of hatred, and still went on to build a proud Jewish family.
“I know what they’d tell me now: Don’t back down.”
Krish’s attacker has yet to be identified or arrested, but the NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force was investigating.
His father told The Post on Friday Krish was “doing OK” and was under medical supervision to make sure no complications arose from the stabbing, which left his lower back bloody.
“Everyone knows about it,” he said when asked about the rise of antisemitism across the city. “Something needs to be done.”
Jewish New Yorkers have been randomly punched or accosted on city sidewalks in recent months, while an Upper West Side man was stabbed in the chest by a hateful nut screaming “Allahu Akbar!’’ as he left a synagogue in July.
More than half of voting-aged Jews have also reported feeling unsafe in the city — especially since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terror attack on Israel — while 42% have reported being verbally harassed for their faith.
“Even when we have the best police force in the world, and we do, they can arrest someone, but if there’s not follow-up through charging, prosecution, conviction, and sentencing, then it won’t work,” Komatireddy noted.
“The stakes couldn’t be higher. Crime instills fear in communities. Crime intimidates. Crime makes people feel unwelcome.”
The candidate also claimed it was “unacceptable” that the AG’s Hate Crimes Unit was “not staffed” under James, something the top prosecutor’s office denied – saying it was part of its full-staffed Civil Rights Bureau.
“I will staff the Hate Crimes Unit, and I will ensure that we prosecute hate crimes and all crime in New York,” Komatireddy added. “I’ll do it myself if I have to.”
Komatireddy was joined by Rabbi Daniel Schonbuch — who compared the state of antisemitism in the city to “1935 in Germany.”
Republican state comptroller candidate Joseph Hernandez, who was also at the press conference, blamed Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his outspoken anti-Israel sentiments for fanning hatred.
“This has to stop. The mayor needs to stop,” Hernandez said. “If this continues, there’s going to be bloodshed. That bloodshed is going to be the responsibility of the mayor. We have to stop this trajectory as soon as possible.”
Komatireddy and James have been closely polling since their fierce debate earlier in October, with some polls finding the incumbent leading by about 50.7% to 44.7% ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
James, who has been AG since 2019, defended her history of addressing antisemitism in a statement to The Post — accusing Komatireddy of “political theater.”
“New York Attorney General Letitia James has proudly stood shoulder to shoulder with Jewish New Yorkers at every stage of her career — protecting communities from discriminatory scams and restrictive zoning — while our opponent plays politics,” a campaign spokesperson said.
