85% increase in reported hate crimes in NYC compared to first half of 2018; NYPD releases report on growing incidents and crimes, NYC mayor announced new office to combat growing trend.

Incidents of anti-Semitism and hate crimes in New York City have seen a dramatic rise in 2019 according to a report recently released by the New York Police Department (NYPD). According to the NYPD, from January to May of this year, there has been an 85% increase in reported hate crimes, the majority of which have been anti-Semitic, totaling 176 complaints.

Addressing the spike in anti-Semitic incidents as a “national problem,” New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson stated earlier this week, “Our residents should feel free to worship without fear, and yet they can’t right now. We have an anti-Semitism crisis in New York. It’s a national problem, but New York accounts for way too many incidents.” Director of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt,  shared the NYPD report on Twitter, citing that 59% of the hate crimes in 2019 have been anti-Semitic. He claimed, “there’s been an 83% increase in NYC hate crimes compared to last year, with a spike in anti-Semitic incidents accounting for 59% of hate crimes during the period. Troubling findings out of one of the country’s most diverse cities.”

The NYPD opened the “Office of Hate Crime Prevention” to confront and deal with rising hate crimes, prejudice, and anti-Semitic attacks and crimes. According to New York City’s Mayor Bill de Blasio, the office will be opened earlier than scheduled to deal with the crisis, the mayor confirming, “The Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes will work to root out hate and make our streets safer, which is why we’re moving up the timeline and opening the office months ahead of schedule…”

Anti-Semitism globally, mainly affecting Europe and both Latin and North America, continues to rise in the number of unreported and reported hate crimes, and has become a norm within the political left, mainstream media and far-right parties. In 2018, France reported a 78% increase in anti-Semitism, Germany reporting 20%. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights carried out a survey in December of last year across 12 EU member states. 89% of Jewish respondents reported increased anti-Semitism over the past five years with 48% not reporting the events to authorities due to “the feeling that nothing would change as a result”. 7 in 10 believe their state government does not combat anti-Semitism effectively.

 

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