Nonprofit Advocacy Organization Impact held a “This Shall Not Stand” rally in Midtown Manhattan, bringing together members of the Jewish community alongside Christians, Muslims, and Hindus to stand against antisemitism and hate, following the recent attack during Shabbat services at Central Synagogue.
The incident involved 46-year-old Larry Montes, who federal prosecutors state stormed into the sanctuary, shouted antisemitic slurs, vandalized property, struck a 63-year-old woman in the face, and headbutted a security guard. Montes is now facing federal hate crime charges.
Impact CEO and co-founder, Aaron Herman, said in a statement to The Jerusalem Post, the message “was simple: An attack on a synagogue or any house of worship is an attack on all of us. This shall not stand.”
Speakers at the Wednesday rally included Jewish leaders and activists, with the rally focused on demanding greater security, confronting rising antisemitism and demonstrating that Jews and our allies will stand together.
Daniel Rosen, president of Impact, spoke to the broader implications of the violence during the rally, and told CBS News New York, “It’s not just about this synagogue. It’s about all synagogues. It’s not just about this act of violence. It’s about the string of violence that has been happening across the city and really across the country.” Addressing the necessity of a collective response.
“The message is that it’s up to me and it’s up to you. It’s up to all of us. And you don’t have to be Jewish to care about people being attacked,” he added.
Addressing the rally attendees on the need for active resistance against bigotry, Rosen emphasized that community defense must be organized and persistent, “Gone are the days when on a Monday a Jew is stabbed, on a Tuesday is spat upon, on a Wednesday a synagogue is vandalized. Gone are those days. We have decided, we have resolved that we will organize our community every single time when such things occur.”
Highlighting the breadth of the interfaith coalition standing together in Manhattan, he added: “We're celebrating the fact that we have Hindus, and Muslims, and Christians, and Jews here together with one voice saying enough!”
Carin Bail, also of Impact, echoed these sentiments during the rally regarding the importance of interfaith unity in combating hate. “If communities came together and really united across all faiths, and we sent a message that was loud and clear that hate shouldn’t be tolerated, that it wouldn’t happen anywhere,” she told CBS News, New York.
Muslim activist joins Jewish leaders in call for interfaith solidarity
The rally featured speeches from various community leaders and activists, addressing the rising climate of fear and insecurity in New York City.
Among the speakers was Atia Shahnaz, the founder of the Pakistani American Skilled Woman Organization and former Muslim woman liaison for the mayor, who addressed the crowd and stated, “As a strong Muslim woman activist, we have the strong Islamic values to respect your neighbors, protect and work on their safety.”
Shahnaz said that solidarity across different faiths is essential.
“So I’m here to show my solidarity with my Jewish brothers and sisters because an attack on a synagogue, we feel attack on our mosque,” Shahnaz said.
Other speakers addressed the challenges families and children face in the city. Addressing the gathering, Israel advocate Lizzy Savetsky said, “It is absolutely unforgivable for me as a Jewish mother that I have to fear for my children in New York City in 2026. My children, who are descendants of a survivor of Auschwitz, who came to this city for a better life.”
Activist calls for greater Jewish self-defense and communal strength
Savetsky spoke further about the broader threat environment and local political leadership, directing sharp criticism at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Savetsky told the crowd, “There are three things that I want to ask of the Jewish community. The first is, we need to be entering our unapologetic era because we have seen that pandering to the enemy has gotten us absolutely nowhere.” She added, “We are just as much of a target when we pander to Mayor Mamdani, when we stay silent while he is running for mayor as our congregants vote for him.”
Savetsky urged attendees to lean into their heritage during the Hebrew month of Elul, describing the Jewish community as part of “the greatest club in history.” Referencing the video of the disturbance at Central Synagogue, she noted, “And I didn’t see any congregant stand up and fight back. We don’t have the luxury anymore of relying on the security that we have to pay for while our mayor is funding Broadway tickets for high school students instead of funding security for our institutions that he has put in danger.”
Savetsky called on the community to take a stand, stating, “We have to fight back. We need to learn self-defense. We need to be exercising our Second Amendment rights. We can’t count on anyone else because the attacks are too frequent and too widespread all over this city. So, Jews, learn how to defend yourselves because we don’t have a choice anymore.”
New York State Assemblyman David Weprin, president of the National Association of Jewish Legislators representing Jewish state lawmakers across more than 40 states, said in an interview during the rally that the fight against bigotry transcends partisan lines.
“Every time a hate crime occurs - and in most of the hate crimes in New York City and nationally, they have been against Jewish people and Jewish institutions - we have to speak out each and every time,” Weprin told the crowd. Pointing to the recent assault at Central Synagogue, he stressed that while it was the latest prominent flashpoint, it was part of a larger, systemic pattern. “It's not a partisan issue. It has nothing to do with Democrats or Republicans or political activity. It has to do with Jews speaking out.”
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman - who serves as the county executive of Nassau County and is the Republican and Conservative nominee for New York governor. Stepping up to the podium, Blakeman praised the broad coalition gathered in Midtown Manhattan and sharply criticized local municipal leadership for failing to protect religious freedom and basic American values.
Blakeman told the crowd before pivoting to a direct condemnation of city leadership, “We have to fight antisemitism. We have to fight the attack on American values. We have to fight against anti-Christianity, which is raising its ugly head also with the same people who are attacking the Jews.”
Blakeman emphasized unity across political and religious spectrums, calling out by name fellow attendees in the audience: “It doesn't matter what party we're talking about. We're talking about good people, Republicans, Democrats, independents, people of all religions, of all faiths, of every ethnicity, of every lifestyle, of every background. We need to stand up and say we will not tolerate attacks on Jewish institutions, on Jewish people. We will no longer tolerate your anti-American values.”
Rabbi Avi Weiss, from the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, told the crowd, “Mr Mamdani, J’accuse! When will you understand that your vile video has put a target on the face of, the sides of every synagogue and every house of worship.”
Rabbi Binyamin Krauss, of SAR Academy in Riverdale, said to the crowd, “Use your power. Speak the right words. Don’t speak words that encourage others to walk into a synagogue to attack us.”
The rally comes amid an increase in antisemitic incidents across New York City, where recent NYPD data indicates that anti-Jewish hate crimes have risen by 8.5% compared to the previous year and accounted for more than 56% of all hate crimes citywide, despite Jewish residents making up roughly 10% of the population.