Shocking Subway Attack Caught on Video — Victim Targeted for Her Faith

Liberty Check

• A Bronx woman allegedly launched a vicious antisemitic attack on a subway, choking and assaulting her victim while shouting hateful slurs
• The entire assault was captured on video, showing the attacker repeating antisemitic conspiracy theories before the physical violence began
• Hate crimes against Jewish Americans continue to surge in blue cities while progressive leaders remain largely silent

A 23-year-old New York woman has been arrested on hate crime charges after allegedly punching, kicking, and choking a woman on a New York City subway in a disturbing incident caught on video. Diana Smith of the Bronx now faces multiple felony charges in connection with the assault that unfolded on a crowded train last weekend.

Video footage shot by the victim captured Smith allegedly screaming antisemitic conspiracy theories at passengers, including the shocking claim that “Jews are eating kids!” before targeting her victim directly.

“You’re a Jew. I can smell the kids.”

The attack escalated rapidly from there. As the video shows, Smith allegedly struck, kicked, and choked the 23-year-old victim before throwing her to the ground and ripping out clumps of her hair. When other riders attempted to intervene, Smith’s response was chilling.

“It’s OK for her to eat a kid, but I can’t choke her down?”

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, told authorities that Smith had been asking riders if they were Jewish before the assault began. She also allegedly repeated antisemitic tropes about Jews stealing wealth — ancient hatred repackaged for a modern subway car.

The video documenting the assault was shared widely on social media by the Combat Antisemitism Movement, bringing national attention to yet another brazen attack on Jewish Americans in New York City. Smith was arrested and charged with hate crime assault, hate crime criminal obstructing breathing, and hate crime aggravated harassment.

The victim was transported to a local hospital in stable condition and treated for minor injuries. But the psychological trauma of being targeted for your faith, threatened with violence, and assaulted in front of witnesses who could do little to help runs far deeper than the physical wounds.

This attack comes as antisemitic incidents in New York City have skyrocketed in recent years — nearly tripling even as other crime categories have allegedly reached record lows. The surge raises urgent questions about what progressive city leaders are doing to protect one of the most vulnerable religious communities in America.

For Jewish New Yorkers, riding the subway has become an exercise in risk assessment. Should you display visible signs of your faith? Should you speak Hebrew on the phone? Should you avoid certain neighborhoods or train lines? These are questions no American should have to ask themselves in 2025.

Yet here we are. Antisemitism, once relegated to the fringes of American society, has been normalized and mainstreamed by activists, celebrities, and politicians who traffic in anti-Israel rhetoric that bleeds seamlessly into age-old hatred of Jewish people. The results are predictable and tragic.

Our freedoms depend on staying vigilant.