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A New York State assemblyman called on the U.S. Department of Justice to open a civil rights investigation into New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani following a pair of stabbings on Manhattan’s Upper West Side that are being looked at as potential hate crimes.
New York State Assemblyman Michael Novakhov, who represents District 45 in Brooklyn, called for action during an End Jew Hatred rally in New York City on Sunday.
“If the DOJ stepped in to protect Jewish students at Columbia, it must now step in to protect Jewish New Yorkers,” Novakhov wrote in a post on Instagram with video of the announcement, referencing a federal probe into alleged antisemitism at the university.
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Novakhov said he was sending the DOJ a formal letter requesting an investigation into New York State, New York City “and most importantly to investigate Mamdani’s hatred against the Jewish population of New York City and New York State.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s office for comment but did not immediately hear back.
The victims in Thursday’s stabbing attacks were identified in media reports as Chok Sung, 57, and Moshe Grunhaus, 50.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said both victims are currently in stable condition. The suspect, identified as Raul Morales, 51, is accused of yelling “Allahu Akbar” while stabbing two men on Thursday afternoon, according to officials.
The Upper West Side is known as a neighborhood with a large Jewish population, and Thursday was Tisha B’Av, a day when Jews fast in mourning for the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem.
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“Jewish New Yorkers should not have to hide their Stars of David, tuck away their kippahs, or fear walking their own streets,” Novakhov wrote.
“The Jewish community deserves answers. No one is above the law,” his post read.
Jewish leaders have recently spoken out against Mamdani’s comments on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling Netanyahu “a war criminal” and “the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people.” Mamdani had added that while City Hall lacks the authority to arrest Netanyahu, he believes the prime minister should be held accountable under the International Criminal Court’s warrant. This, despite the ICC not having any jurisdiction in the United States, as the U.S. is not a member of the international body.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman-Diamond and Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.
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