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Bronx officials decry Pal-Awda targeting Jewish gatherings in Riverdale

Rep. Richie Torres and New York state and city officials said that “pushing anyone out of public life in our city because of their faith is nothing to celebrate.”

Menin Torres
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) attends a 47th Precinct National Night Out Against Crime event alongside New York City Council speaker Julie Menin, Aug. 4, 2026. Credit: Alex Krales/NYC Council Media Unit.

Four Bronx officials condemned Pal-Awda for targeting Jewish community gatherings in Riverdale and said that Jewish families should be able to meet without fear.

In a joint statement, Rep. Richie Torres (D-N.Y.), state Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson and New York City Councilmember Eric Dinowitz said the group previously boasted about forcing a Jewish community event out of Queens and had now turned its attention to Riverdale.

“Pushing anyone out of public life in our city because of their faith is nothing to celebrate,” the officials said. “The Bronx will not tolerate it.”

The statement described efforts to identify and drive Jewish gatherings out of neighborhoods as an attack on Jewish New Yorkers. It added that Riverdale is one of New York’s vibrant Jewish communities.

“I’m scared of what’s going to happen now,” Miri Bar-Halpern, a Jewish psychology lecturer at Harvard Medical School, told JNS. “I can already predict the backlash.”
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