Anti-Jewish crimes on rise in NYC

NEW YORK - The NYPD says anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise in New York City.

In one of the latest incidents, a man was assaulted while he was walking on the street in Brooklyn.

"This is terror, pure and simple," said Scott Richman, NY/NJ Regional Director for the Anti-Defamation League.

Richman is reacting to three anti-Semitic incidents that took place in the Williamsburg area just this past weekend, specifically one attack where surveillance video shows a suspect running along a sidewalk and approaching an identifiably Jewish man, then punching him in the head and running away.

"Everybody in that community is now concerned. They're now worried. Am I next? And they wonder if they're going to be the next victim? That's what term terrorism is about, and that's what hate crimes are about. It doesn't just affect the victim, it affects everybody who's part of that group," said Richman.

The ADL is now offering a $7,500 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person involved.

There was another alleged assault reported in the area the same night, in addition to Swastikas sprayed onto Yeshiva school buses later in the weekend.

Richman believes manifestations of hate being spread over social media, in addition to several other factors, have led to an uptick in Jewish hate incidents.

"Obviously, the Israel-Hamas conflict did result in a huge spike in anti-Semitism over 100 percent year-on-year from May 2020 to 21. The economy, people's concerns, people's general concerns about our society being in a pandemic," said Richman.

This weekend is a strong indicator of what has played out so far this year on city streets. The NYPD confirms there have been at least 15 reported Jewish hate crimes just last month in January 2022, compared to 4 reported crimes in the same time period last year. These attacks come as we’ve seen a huge spike in anti-Asian hate crimes as well.  

"Traditionally there are three ways to control antisemitism and really all forms of hate," said Richman.  "Legislation.  So, the second way is education. But the third way, civil society needs to step in and say this is unacceptable."

On Wednesday, February 9th, City Council Member Julie Menin, who’s the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, will host an "Antisemitism Town Hall." It will be a virtual discussion on how to prevent and report antisemitism and other hate crimes.

The ADL wants people to report hate crimes to ADL.org/reportincident.