Two women aged 25 and 26 are charged with hate crimes after assaulting Jewish victim, 41, who confronted them for tearing down posters of kidnapped Israelis in NYC
- Mehwish Omer and Stephanie Gonzalez allegedly attacked a Jewish woman (41).
- The NYPD had offered a $3,500 reward for information on the two suspects
- Police have charged several people for tearing down posters of hostages
Two women have been charged with hate crimes after attacking a Jewish victim who confronted them about taking down posters in New York City of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas, police said.
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 on the Upper West Side on November 9.
The young women are accused of ripping off the woman’s Star of David necklace and knocking her cell phone out of her hand before running off.
The victim reportedly suffered minor injuries to her face and neck, and her phone was damaged.
Omer turned himself in on Monday and Gonzalez was charged last week. They are both being held in Lower Manhattan’s 7th District.
Mehwish Omer, 26 (center), and Stephanie Gonzalez, 25 (left), allegedly attacked the 41-year-old woman after she approached the duo as they removed the Israeli hostage posters
The NYPD had offered a $3,500 reward for information about the two assailants, who remained unknown for days after the alleged attack.
It comes after two 18-year-old New Yorkers, Charlotte Wimer and Gray Segal, were also arrested for tearing 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.’