Hate Crimes
“The habit of persecuting Jews is beginning to be reborn. Brothers and sisters: This is neither human nor Christian; the Jews are our brothers and sisters, and must not be persecuted! Understood?”
The incidents exemplify the spike in anti-Semitic hate crimes in the borough in recent months.
Overall, the number of hate crimes decreased slightly in 2018, following increases over three consecutive years. There were 7,120 such incidents in 2018, down from 7,175 the previous year.
The incidents include an encounter at a station in Brooklyn in which a 26-year-old man allegedly yelled “Heil, Hitler!” and “All Jews must die!”
Police said all of the reports are being investigated by the NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force.
Richard Holzer, 27, was charged with intentionally attempting to obstruct persons in the enjoyment of their free exercise of religious beliefs, through force and the attempted use of explosives and fire.
The latest figures are the highest recorded since the council collected aggregated data in 2006.
That could violate the Clery Act of 1990, which requires colleges that receive federal funding to report crimes on or adjacent to campus.
The judgement by a jury in Wisconsin comes four months after a judge ruled that Leonard Pozner, whose 6-year-old son Noah was the youngest of the 26 people killed at the school, was defamed by James Fetzer and Mike Palecek.
“As the elected leader of the city with the largest Jewish population in the U.S., Mayor [Bill] de Blasio has a special obligation to take the lead on combating anti-Semitic violence,” said World Jewish Congress president Ronald S. Lauder.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo directed the State Police Hate Crimes Task Force to aid in investigating the incident.
German pop-music enthusiast Jana Lange, 40, and outdoor painter Kevin S., 20, were shot and killed 27-year-old by Stephan Balliet, who first attempted to break into the synagogue in Halle.
