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A 23-year-old Orthodox Jewish woman was hospitalized with a concussion on Sunday after she was attacked on a subway train in Manhattan by a fellow passenger who said “Jews are eating kids.”
The assailant, 34-year-old Bronx resident Diana Smith, began making antisemitic remarks aboard a C-train before zeroing in on the victim. The young woman recalled Smith turning toward her, staring, and giving her a disturbing smile she said she would never forget.
Part of the assault was captured on the victim’s phone. In the footage, which the victim provided to the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), Smith is heard shouting “Jews eat children” — a modern-day variation of a centuries-old blood libel used to incite violence against Jews.
The woman being assaulted in this video is a friend of mine… She sent me this video.
It’s terrifying to see what is happening in New York. The fact that this kind of hatred is being expressed so openly, without fear or shame, should alarm everyone. https://t.co/n2CLXj8x8x
— Natalie Sanandaji (@NatSanandaji) June 3, 2026
Smith then grabbed the victim by the throat. Police say she also threw her to the ground, struck her, and ripped out a fistful of hair.
The victim exited at Canal Street station and reported the attack to police. Another passenger activated the train’s emergency button, allowing officers to intervene and detain Smith. She now faces charges of hate-motivated assault, aggravated criminal obstruction of breathing, and aggravated harassment.
The victim, speaking afterward, said: “I kept telling myself: I am not in Nazi Germany.”
CAM Chief Government Affairs Officer Lisa Katz told CBS News New York, “Antisemitism has now moved from just words to actual violence. 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.”
Watch a CBS News New York report on the incident, including a comment from CAM Chief Government Affairs Officer Lisa Katz, HERE:
Take Action
CAM has launched Report It, a secure app to report antisemitic incidents anonymously and in real time. Don’t stay silent. Download it today on the Apple App Store or Google Play. See it. Report it. Stop it.
