Anti-Jewish hate crimes in New York City, which surged 182% in the first month of Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral term, came up briefly at the end of a three-hour public safety hearing that the New York City Council held with New York City Police Department officials.
“For the past several years, the confirmed anti-Jewish hate crimes have fluctuated roughly between 50% and 60% in this city,” Michael Gerber, deputy NYPD commissioner for legal matters, told the council at the end of the Sept. 16 hearing.
Geber called the numbers “striking” but said that the trend was “not new” and has risen significantly since Oct. 7.
Jews make up about 10% of New Yorkers, though they have consistently been targeted in most religion-based hate crimes in the city this year.
Inna Vernikov, a Jewish member of theCity Council and co-chair of its task force on fighting Jew-hatred, told JNS that the amount of antisemitism means that it should be discussed early and often at public safety forums.
“When one community, that makes up 10% of the population, is the target of over 50% of the city’s total hate crimes, that needs to be brought up in any public safety conversation,” she told JNS.
“The Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, which I co-chair, shed light on glaring holes in the system at our hate crimes hearing in April, but the problem is continuing at alarming rates,” she said. “We need all the help we can get in this climate.”
Julie Menin, the first Jewish speaker of the City Council, told JNS that “combating antisemitism in all forms is a top priority.”
“That’s why the Task Force to Combat Hate held a hearing earlier this year to examine the NYPD’s handling and reporting of antisemitic hate crimes,” she told JNS.
