Staff Reports
A Queens woman named Cara Trager was killed while crossing a street after dinner. The man accused of the hit-and-run, Dawood Faisal, was later charged with manslaughter and was already facing a hate-crime charge for vandalizing a kosher bagel shop. Cara’s family believes antisemitism played a role. Mayor Zohran Mamdani declined the family’s request to meet. The city and its leaders owe the Tragers clear answers — and swift action to protect the Jewish community.
A troubling trail of behavior
The basic facts are stark and simple: a car plowed into two vehicles at high speed, the driver fled, witnesses tackled him, and Cara died of her injuries. The suspect is now in custody on Rikers Island and faces second-degree manslaughter charges. What makes this case particularly dangerous for our city is the video evidence that emerged showing the same man smashing up a kosher shop that displayed Israeli flags. That isn’t just reckless vandalism — it is the kind of targeted, antisemitic behavior that should set off every alarm bell in police and prosecutor offices.
Don’t call it a coincidence
Families who see a pattern have every right to ask whether this was more than an accident. The Tragers asked the mayor for a meeting and were turned down. Meanwhile, New York City’s own numbers show anti-Jewish hate crimes rising and Jews making up a large share of reported incidents. If a suspect has a documented history of attacking Jewish institutions, the city must at least consider motive and investigate accordingly. To shrug and hope it was random is simply not good enough.
What Mayor Mamdani and the city must do
First, the police and the district attorney must make it clear whether they are treating motive as part of the prosecution. Second, the mayor should meet this grieving family and publicly condemn antisemitism — not with vague statements but with a plan: protect kosher businesses, increase patrols in vulnerable neighborhoods, and fund community outreach so Jewish New Yorkers feel safe. If Mayor Mamdani is too busy to meet a family whose loved one may have been killed for being Jewish, he should at least send someone who can pledge real steps and real resources.
The death of Cara Trager is a tragedy that demands answers. The family and the community need more than condolences; they need accountability and action. If the city wants to show it takes antisemitism seriously, it will investigate thoroughly, prosecute aggressively, and stop treating rising attacks on Jews as an afterthought. New Yorkers deserve a mayor who will stand with every community — or at least one who will answer a simple request from a grieving spouse. No more silence, no more shrugging, and certainly no more excuses.
