NYPD head Jessica Tisch speaks at NYC synagogue 1 week after anti-Jewish hate attack

Colin Mixson, New York Daily News on Aug 21, 2026

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NEW YORK — Telling Central Synagogue members, “I stand with you,” New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Friday called last week’s attack at the Midtown house of worship, for which a man was charged with federal hate crimes, part of a “broader pattern” of bias attacks against Jews in New York City and around the world.

Tisch spoke during the Shabbat service at the Manhattan synagogue, where one week earlier Larry Montes, 46, is accused of striking a 63-year-old woman and yelling “F–k you, n—-r!” at a 65-year-old Black security guard before spitting in his face and headbutting him. Tisch emphasized the disparity in the number of crimes targeting Jews, who make up only 10% of the city’s population, but who are targeted in roughly half of all hate crimes in New York City.

“Those numbers are staggering, but sometimes the data can be just that — numbers on a page, abstract, at a distance,” she told the congregation. “What happened here last Friday brought that hatred inside the doors of this synagogue.”

The commissioner said the NYPD has been tracking attacks targeting Jewish victims across the globe ever since Hamas and militant Palestinian groups attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

“Since October 7, hate has ricocheted across the globe, and the Jewish community has been targeted again and again,” Tisch said. “We have watched rhetoric shift from slogans to direct calls for violence.”

She said violence against Jews abroad may inspire attacks closer to home.

“Every high-profile attack raises the risk of another. Individuals already on the edge do not always need instructions. Sometimes, all they need is a spark,” the top cop said. “That is why we take threats seriously, and why we work aggressively to intervene before hatred becomes violence.”

The commissioner sought to reassure the congregation that the NYPD was doing everything in its power to safeguard Jewish New Yorkers and thwart antisemitic attacks.

“Across New York City, our precinct commanders and community affairs officers are in contact with synagogues and yeshivas, doing everything we can to ensure their safety,” Tisch said. “Our Intelligence and Counterterrorism Bureau acts aggressively against potential threats and directs resources where they are needed.”

“As a proud Jew and a lifelong member of this congregation, you have my word that I stand with you in these uncertain, precarious times,” Tisch pledged.

“And as Police commissioner, you have my word that behind that commitment stand 35,000 members of the NYPD willing to risk their own lives for people they have never met, supported by the most robust municipal counterterrorism capacity in the world and a Hate Crimes Task Force that is second to none.”

After she finished her remarks, the Central Synagogue members all rose to their feet and gave Tisch a sustained standing ovation, before the service ended with music and the traditional sharing of challah bread.

Worshipers watching the service on the house of worship’s Facebook livestream were heartened by Tisch’s steady presence and reassuring words.

“Yasher Koach Madame Commissioner,” one posted — meaning “good job” in Yiddish.

“If Commissioner Tisch is this good every day as she is from the bima, I feel hopeful for New York,” another wrote, referring to the rabbis’ platform at the front of the temple.

The bizarre attack, part of which was caught on a livestream of the previous week’s Shabbat service, outraged Jewish leaders and public officials, including Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who said he was “horrified” by the hateful incident.

“Our administration will always stand against bigotry in all its forms,” he said. “We will use every tool at our disposal to confront antisemitism and keep Jewish New Yorkers — and all New Yorkers — safe.”

Montes called congregants at Central Synagogue “swine” and himself God, before attacking congregant Michele Anaberg-Poma, 63, and the security guard while screaming a racist slur at him, cops said. He also grabbed and threw two $10,000 candle holders to the ground, breaking them, and screamed at the congregation, according to prosecutors. Police said he also spewed, “F–k the Jews.”

Ananberg-Poma posted on Instagram the night of the attack, remaining defiant despite Montes’ berserk outburst.

“You will not punch out our Jewish light. You will not stand and cause harm to our eternal light,” Ananberg-Poma wrote. “We will continue to sing our prayers of peace, love, and joy while protecting the voices that lead us each week.”

Montes was charged with two counts of committing hate crimes and one count of damage to religious property resulting in bodily injury for last Friday’s attack, according to the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted on the top charge.

His relatives called Montes a troubled man whose struggles have worsened since the recent death of his grandmother, who raised him.