ByALEX CARSONAUGUST 20, 2026 18:56Impact held a "This Shall Not Stand" rally in Midtown Manhattan, bringing together members of the Jewish community alongside Christian, Muslim, and Hindu allies to stand against antisemitism and hate on Wednesday, 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 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, telling 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, he added, “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.”Central Synagogue in Manhattan. (credit: Michael Horowitz / via JTA)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 solidarityThe 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 emphasized that solidarity across different faiths is essential, noting, “So I'm here to show my solidarity with my Jewish brothers and sisters because attack on synagogue, we feel attack on our mosque.”Other speakers addressed the challenges faced by families and children in the city. Addressing the gathering, Israel advocate Lizzy Savetsky remarked, “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.”Savetsky spoke further about the broader threat environment and local political leadership, directing sharp criticism at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Reflecting on the climate in the city, 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.”Activist calls for greater Jewish self-defense and communal strengthExpanding on themes of communal resilience, self-defense, and public safety, 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.”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. addressed the crowd saying: “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 a broader surge in antisemitic incidents across New York City, where recent NYPD data indicates that anti-Jewish hate crimes have increased by 8.5 percent compared to the previous year, accounting for more than 56 percent of all hate crimes citywide despite Jewish residents making up roughly 10 percent of the population. The rising tide of hostility has fueled intense public pushback against municipal leadership, with critics and advocacy groups organizing campaigns and demonstrations to blame Mayor Zohran Mamdani's rhetoric surrounding Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for exacerbating the climate of hostility towards Jews.Follow us on Google