Larry Montes, 46, of the Bronx, who stormed the Friday evening service at Central Synagogue in Manhattan and struck a worshipper, was acting out of apparent hostility toward the Reform Jewish community, the American Jewish newspaper The Forward reported. According to the outlet's investigation, Montes – described as emotionally disturbed – had shared a series of social media posts expressing support for Israel and criticizing Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and called the worshippers "fake Jews" following his arrest.
Central Synagogue, located at the corner of Lexington Avenue and 55th Street in Manhattan, is one of the largest and oldest Reform synagogues in New York and among the most recognized in the world. The attack took place Friday at around 6:00 p.m. local time.
According to the New York Police Department, Montes entered the building, walked to the front of the sanctuary, and began disrupting the service. When security personnel tried to remove him, he punched a 63-year-old worshipper in the face – cutting her lip and injuring her right hand – headbutted a security guard, spat on him, and smashed two menorahs with an estimated combined value of $20,000.
He was arrested at the scene and charged with two counts of assault as a hate crime and one count of criminal mischief as a hate crime. According to the prosecutor, he called the worshippers "swine" and "fake Jews" after his arrest.
Video: The attack at Central Synagogue in Manhattan, New York City
According to the Forward, a Facebook page apparently belonging to Montes showed that in June he shared two videos critical of Mamdani – one comparing the mayor to the former Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, and another accusing him of betraying the city's Latino communities. In 2024, he posted a photo of a map of Israel with the caption "Keep Israel in your heart." His more recent posts are increasingly incoherent, including screenshots of attempts to translate garbled Spanish text into Hebrew.
Montes's aunt, Miriam, told the New York Post that her nephew had sought to convert to Judaism. "He's mentally traumatized because of his desire to belong to that religion [Judaism] — that's what he's said," she told the paper, adding, "Given what happened, he might not have been in his right mind." She noted, however, that she had not spoken with her nephew in the past three months.
Police said Montes had been arrested three times between 2019 and 2023 on charges of violent robbery and was known to them as an "emotionally disturbed person." He is expected to appear in court on Thursday.
Just hours after the incident, Israel's Consul General in New York, Ofir Akunis, blamed the mayor. "The attack at Manhattan's Central Synagogue is a direct result of Mayor Mamdani's sustained campaign of incitement. I warned that words would turn into actions , and that is exactly what is happening. Mamdani has failed to protect New York's Jews. It is not enough to issue lukewarm condemnations. Action is needed."
