Man arrested for allegedly shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ in Manhattan synagogue in July

(Oct. 14, 2026 / JNS)

Shear Nobles, of Philadelphia, was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly disrupting services on July 21 at Shuva Israel, a Sephardic synagogue in Manhattan, and shouting Allahu Akbar.

New York City Police Department officers arrested the 48-year-old in Midtown Manhattan and charged him with aggravated harassment and disruption of religious service, the NYPD said.

Nobles entered the synagogue on July 21 at around 7:15 p.m. and used his cell phone to record “inside the location without authorization” and entered the sanctuary “while religious services were in session,” the NYPD said.

In the sanctuary where congregants were praying, he “stated loudly Allahu Akbar, causing fear and annoyance for all attending service,” the department said at the time. No injuries were reported.

The NYPD said that its hate crime task force was part of the investigation.

A man with the same name, physical description and city of origin, who would now be about 48, was arrested for defiant trespassing in 1996, theft and assault in 1997 and possession of a controlled substance and criminal conspiracy in 2000. (JNS sought comment from the NYPD.)

The same person was also arrested for burglary in 2005 and was indicted and convicted for possessing a gun and ammunition as a convicted felon in 2007, according to court records from the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania.