Anti-Israel protester who told ‘Zionists’ to ID themselves on subway now hides face from press after arrest following weeks-long manhunt

The anti-Israel protester who allegedly stormed a Big Apple subway car and demanded that “Zionists” raise their hands was arrested Wednesday following a weeks-long manhunt, cops said.

Anas Saleh, 24, of Staten Island, turned himself in with his attorney at around 9.30 a.m. after the NYPD released a wanted poster last week with his face splashed across it in the wake of the hate-filled incident at Manhattan’s Union Square station.

Saleh was spotted wearing a face mask as he left the NYPD’s Transit Bureau District 2 in Lower Manhattan — flanked by several people who attempted to shield him from press photographers using scarves and black umbrellas.

He was charged with attempted coercion and released with a desk appearance ticket, authorities said.

Saleh, who is believed to have worked as a research tech at Weill Cornell Medicine’s Rhee Lab, was quickly outed as the alleged perp on social media, with Jewish activist groups also circulating his image on social media in a bid to track him down.

The school’s dean, Robert Harrington, addressed the antisemitic subway saga in a letter fired off to Cornell employees – but stopped short of mentioning Saleh by name or his arrest.

“We condemn antisemitism in the strongest possible terms. Hate speech or actions of any kind, whether anti-Semitic or Islamophobic, are not tolerated by our community,” Harrington said in the statement Wednesday.

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“We are fully cooperating with the NYPD investigation, as well as conducting our own internal review, in the incident. If any employee is confirmed to be involved in this incident, appropriate action will be taken.”

It wasn’t immediately clear if Saleh was still employed there as of Wednesday, but his biography page on the lab’s website appears to have been deleted.

Saleh also appeared to have scrubbed his own social media presence last week before turning himself in to cops.

The saga unfolded back on June 10 when Saleh allegedly entered the southbound 5 train at Union Square and started chanting, “Raise your hands if you’re a Zionist, repeat after me, this is your chance to get out.”

Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday decried the ordeal as “vile.”

“Mayor Adams has been clear: New York City will always protect the right to free speech, but we will never allow our city to descend into lawlessness,” a City Hall spokesperson said in the wake of Saleh’s arrest.

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“Threatening New Yorkers based on their beliefs is not only vile, it’s illegal and will not be tolerated. Let this be a lesson to all those who think they can act illegally and then hide: The NYPD will find you and charge you in accordance with the law.”

Saleh was ordered to go to court on July 1 to face the charges, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

“The Manhattan DA’s office and NYPD have been actively investigating this incident since it occurred. We encourage anyone with additional information to call 212-335-9040,” a rep for DA Alvin Bragg said in a statement.

He faces up to a year in prison if convicted on the attempted coercion charge.

The incident allegedly involving Saleh unfolded the same night a mob of anti-Israel protesters swarmed an exhibit in downtown Manhattan that memorialized music festival-goers who were slaughtered and kidnapped by Hamas during the Oct. 7 terror attacks.

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Protesters later descended on Union Square Park and brandished a banner with “Long live October 7” scrawled across it, while one screamed that he wished “Hitler was still here” to “wipe out” the Jews.

“Harassment and coercion are crimes. We are thankful that the NYPD is acting to hold this perpetrator accountable for his actions,” Liora Rez, executive director of StopAntisemitism, one of the groups that posted about Saleh, said in a statement after his arrest.

“It will now be the responsibility of the district attorney to ensure that this antisemite is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, which all New Yorkers expect will be with the vocal and visible support of Mayor Eric Adams and all duly sworn officials of the City of New York,” the statement said.

“The public antisemitism we are seeing on the subways and streets of New York City does not only affect Jews. antisemitism degrades the lives of all Americans here in New York and is antithetical to our values as a nation,” she added.

Meanwhile, those who live near Saleh’s family home on Staten Island expressed their shock following his arrest, telling The Post on Wednesday his parents were “nice” people.

“All I know is they’re really nice and I find it hard to believe,” one woman, who declined to be named, said. “Any of them will walk right over to help you out.”

Another neighbor, who also didn’t want to be named, agreed.

“They’ve been here for less than a year. They’ve been nice,” he said. “They always wave hello.”

Additional reporting by Haley Brown and Kyle Schnitzer

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