NYC woman Mehwish Omer, 26, appears in court on hate crime charges after attacking Jewish woman who confronted her for ripping down posters of kidnapped Israelis

One of two women charged with hate crimes for allegedly attacking a Jewish victim who confronted them for tearing down posters of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas in New York appeared in court yesterday.

Mehwish Omer, 26, and Stephanie Gonzalez, 25, allegedly attacked the 41-year-old woman after she approached the duo as they removed posters of Israeli hostages from a light pole on the Upper West Side on the night of November 9.

Omer has been charged with assault as a hate crime and criminal mischief as a hate crime, while Gonzalez has been charged with criminal mischief and theft.

Omer appeared before a Manhattan Criminal Court judge last night after trying to shield her face from photographers on the way to the courthouse.

Omer was released under supervised release and will appear in court in January.

The Jewish woman told police she began recording Omer and Gonzalez and arguing with them before she was attacked.

The young women then allegedly attacked her, ripped off her Star of David necklace and knocked her cell phone out of her hand before running away.

The victim reportedly suffered minor injuries to her face and neck, and her phone was damaged.

Omer’s lawyer told the judge that an altercation had provoked his client.

“I see enough arguments in a day and people say things to upset other people,” attorney Lee Koch told the judge.

The NYPD had offered a $3,500 reward for information about the two assailants, who remained unknown for days after the alleged attack.

Both young women are charged with assault and criminal conduct as hate crimes. Gonzales is also charged with attempted theft.

None of the suspects have a criminal history.

Their arrests come after two 18-year-old New Yorkers, Charlotte Wimer and Gray Segal, were also arrested for pulling down posters of hostages kidnapped in the war between Israel and Hamas.

The posters were of 240 Israeli children and adults kidnapped by the terrorist group since the October 7 attack on Israel. NYPD officials have charged both suspects with criminal mischief.

The wall of the private building was covered with red and white signs with the word “KIDNAPPED” written above photos of the missing hostages, as well as posters with the Israeli flag.

A video shared by an X user shows posters torn to shreds while Wimer and Segal are in handcuffs.

Posters highlighting the Jewish situation have been placed throughout the Big Apple as a way to draw attention to those still in Gaza as hostages. However, there have also been plenty of viral videos of people removing posters.

Weeks earlier, sisters Aya and Danan were caught on camera tearing off posters of Israeli child hostages while shouting “f***k Israel” on New York City’s Upper West Side.

They were confronted by passerby Marilyn Adler, who was walking down the street with her two daughters. When Adler urged them to stop tearing up the posters, the duo launched a barrage of abuse against them.

Footage shows one of the sisters shouting: ‘f***k you, f***k Israel’. The other woman said: ‘f***k you, b***h’

‘They wouldn’t let me say a word. They said it was Israeli propaganda. They said Israel made up the hostages with AI,” Adler’s daughter Melissa told the New York Post.

“I said, ‘Please talk to me.’ They kept shouting at me. They just cursed me and shouted at me. I was just stunned.

‘They looked at me with eyes full of hatred. They hate me simply because I am a Jew. They don’t even know me.’