Mamdani hits back at Netanyahu for ‘baseless lies’

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What you need to know today

• Mamdani accused Netanyahu of telling “baseless lies” in his U.N. speech. Mayor Zohran Mamdani hit back after the Israeli prime minister’s broadside during the United Nations General Assembly Thursday, in which Benjamin Neytanyahu labeled Mamdani an antisemite. Mamdani said in a statement after the speech that Netanyahu sought to “sanitize his genocide of Palestinians.” Dozens of people protesting Netanyahu’s appearance were arrested outside, including progressive Jewish activists, celebrities such as Hannah Einbinder and politicians such as City Councilman Chi Ossé, a Mamdani ally.
  
  
• A suspect was arrested for allegedly chasing a Jewish man with a knife while shouting “Heil Hitler.” Devin Best has been charged with “aggravated harassment as a hate crime” and “menacing” after the attack on Wednesday in Crown Heights, reported the New York Daily News. The incident was captured in a surveillance video shared by the Jewish neighborhood watch group Crown Heights Shmira.
  
  
• Fort Tryon Jewish Center was vandalized on Yom Kippur. The Conservative congregation in Upper Manhattan reported finding graffiti on its doors that said, “Jesus Christ tare [sic] these doors down.” The message, written in chalk, was promptly erased. “This incident is upsetting, especially to have taken place on Yom Kippur, but we are grateful that there was no damage or injury,” the synagogue said in a statement.
  
  
• Get ready for a Sukkot storm. A powerful fall storm is expected to hit New York and New Jersey this weekend, as Jewish families prepare for the largely outdoor holiday.