The hateful lunatic who stabbed a rabbi with a syringe in the Diamond District was nabbed Saturday — as officials revealed she attacked another Jewish man just minutes later.
Anna Mochalova, 32, was arrested and slapped with a slew of charges, including assault as a hate crime, for the terrifying spree that began with the jabbing of a young rabbi in Midtown Manhattan, prosecutors said at her arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court on Sunday.
The alleged bigot began to stalk Yosef, a 26-year-old rabbi, who is seen in surveillance video wearing traditional Orthodox garb, before stabbing him in the back with a needle near West 47th Street and Fifth Avenue on Wednesday at 5:50 p.m., according to prosecutors.
Anna Mochalova, 32, was arrested and slapped with a slew of charges, including assault as a hate crime, for stalking and jabbing Yosef, a 26-year-old rabbi, in the back with a needle last week. Shomrim Manhattan
Yosef, the young rabbi stabbed with a syringe, previously told The Post he believes he was targeted because he is “visibly Jewish.”
“I never met that person before,” he said. “She passes by other people. I’m visibly Jewish.”
The young rabbi, who attempts Jewish outreach on the streets of New York City, said it was the first time he experienced antisemitism in America.
“I never experienced antisemitism anywhere in America on a personal level,” he said.
Yousef, 26, was poked in the back with a syringe containing unknown contents while walking at 15 West 47th Street in the Diamond District on Oct. 21, 2026. Shomrim Manhattan
Five minutes later, Mochalova deliberately bumped into a 37-year-old Jewish man wearing a yarmulke on West 45th Street and Fifth Avenue, prosecutors alleged.
Mochalova bumped into the man several times, causing a stinging sensation in his right arm, prosecutors alleged – before chillingly telling the man “run away from here. I have a gun. I’m going to shoot you.”
The man was later treated for lacerations, according to authorities.
Prosecutors said the madwoman then turned to a third man, who was spared from her harassment because he told her he was Muslim.
The Post’s front page on another Jewish attack from 2026.
Mochalova then apologized to the man for bothering him before leaving the scene, according to prosecutors.
The hate-filled assaults came weeks after the NYPD revealed that hate-crimes soared by nearly 13% over the first nine months of the year compared to the same time last year, with anti-Jewish incidents comprising more than half of them.
Both incidents were investigated by the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force as antisemitic attacks, according to cops.
“The conduct in these incidents is scary and concerning and the defendant faces serious charges as a result,” Assistant District Attorney Emily Hong said in court at Mochalova’s arraignment Sunday evening.
“She [Mochalova] selected both of her targets because she believed them to be Jewish,” the prosecutor said.
But Mochalova’s lawyer Lila Carpenter told the court that the alleged attacker had no prior arrests and is gainfully employed, arguing that “there may be an ID issue” by cops for her client.
“These allegations are concerning. Whether they’re my client’s is a different story,” Carpenter told Judge Linda Capitti.
The judge set bail at $50,000 cash, citing the seriousness of the allegations as well as surveillance video of the alleged attacks.
Judge Capitti also added that Mochalova could face “a serious sentence” if convicted.
Yitty, 31, a coordinator with the Manhattan Shomrim, told The Post via video call that the Jewish community is “happy” with the court’s decision.
“You know, having her back outside is just a danger to everybody outside. She needs to get help,” he said.
Mochalova is due back in court on Oct. 29.
The attack left Yosef undeterred, as he told The Post he returned to the scene the next day for more outreach, citing his grandparents’ resilience surviving the Holocaust.
“They went on to build a Jewish home after the Holocaust,” he said. “If they could survive, I must go back to spread the light,” he said.