A man who was accused of stabbing two people on the Upper West Side in July, in what prosecutors said were unprovoked and antisemitic attacks, was indicted on Tuesday on charges that included attempted murder as a hate crime.
Prosecutors said the man, Raul Morales, attacked two men within blocks of each other on July 23 while yelling “Allahu akbar” — roughly, “God is great” in Arabic — and a phrase that appeared to be “Justice for Islam.”
Mr. Morales approached the first man, a 57-year-old Asian American named Chok Sung, on West 84th Street and Central Park West near a synagogue. He then stabbed Mr. Sung, who was a wearing baseball cap, in the back with a knife, prosecutors said.
About four blocks away, Mr. Morales approached the second man, 50-year-old Moshe Yezhak Grunhaus, who had just left the Jewish Center, a modern Orthodox synagogue, and was wearing a skullcap, prosecutors said. Mr. Morales plunged a screwdriver into Mr. Grunhaus’s chest, according to prosecutors.
Mr. Morales then fled, prosecutors said, and was later arrested at his apartment in a New York City Housing Authority building on Amsterdam Avenue. A search of his belongings turned up a cellphone that contained text messages with antisemitic statements, said Megan Joy, an assistant district attorney. Prosecutors did not elaborate on what the messages said.
Mr. Morales, who is being held at the Rikers Island jail complex, was indicted on 10 counts, including four charges of second-degree attempted murder as a hate crime. He pleaded not guilty. Both victims were taken to a hospital and released after being treated for their injuries.
According to New York State law, a person commits a hate crime when they target someone “in whole or in substantial part” because of a belief about the person’s race, color or religion, among other traits, “regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct.”
Alvin L. Bragg, the district attorney, said in a statement that the case was “a prime example of how hate crimes make all of us less safe.”
“I want to make clear to all Manhattanites that we will stand with and support you no matter your background, ethnicity or religion,” he said.
The attacks, which unfolded over 15 minutes, left the city’s Jewish community rattled.
Sheldon Fine, who described himself as a chaplain for the Jewish community on the Upper West Side, said outside the courthouse on Tuesday that the attacks Mr. Morales was charged with were part of a larger pattern of antisemitic violence and rhetoric.
“This is part of a whole Jewish hate that is going on all over the place,” he said, “and it has to stop.”
Hate crimes in New York City, particularly those targeting Jewish people, have risen in recent years, even as other major crimes have declined. That has been a source of tensions between some Jewish leaders and Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has been critical of Israel and its leadership. Two days before the Upper West Side attacks, Mr. Mamdani referred to Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, as a “war criminal” and called on the federal government to arrest him, statements that pro-Israel groups have said they worried could worsen antisemitism.
The first attack happened around 1:30 p.m. near Central Park. As Mr. Sung was walking west on West 84th Street, Mr. Morales approached him from behind and stabbed him in the back, yelling “Allahu akbar,” Ms. Joy said in court on Tuesday.
After the attack, Mr. Morales yelled what sounded like “Justice for Islam” while walking past a synagogue on West 83rd Street and Central Park West, Ms. Joy said.
Mr. Morales made his way to West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, where he stabbed Mr. Grunhaus, prosecutors said. A witness followed Mr. Morales to his apartment building and heard him yell “Allahu akbar,” Ms. Joy said.
Mr. Sung arrived at the hospital with the knife still wedged in his spine, Ms. Joy said, and the victims still face residual health problems like difficulty breathing.
If convicted on the four counts of attempted murder, Mr. Morales could face 25 years in prison for each charge.
During the hearing, Mr. Morales’s lawyers with the Legal Aid Society said they were conducting their own investigation into the attacks. They declined to comment after the hearing.
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