New York State report reveals that Jews are are the most heavily target victims of hate crimes, with nearly half of reported hate crimes and almost 90% of religious-based hate crimes being aimed at Jews.
By World Israel News Staff
Nearly half of all hate crimes documented in the State of New York last year targeted Jews, according to a new report released by the state government.
On Wednesday, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office published data on hate crime reports for 2023, revealing that a total of 1,089 hate crimes were documented that year across the state, up 69% since 2019.
While Jews make up around 9-10% of New York State’s 19.8 million residents, reported hate crimes targeting Jews accounted for 44% of the total number of hate crimes statewide, with 477 antisemitic hate crimes reported in 2023.
The number of antisemitic hate crimes in 2023 is 89% higher than it was in 2019.
Antisemitic hate crimes make up 88% of all religious-based hate crimes, compared to anti-Islamic hate crimes, which made up 3.4% of all hate crimes reported in 2023.
The most common hate crimes reported in New York City, where details on the breakdown of hate crimes by type of offense were available, were aggravated first degree harassment. Over 90% of these 145 offenses in 2023 were committed against Jews.
Though 44% of all hate crimes in 2023 were targeted against Jews, 65% of felony hate crimes were antisemitic in nature, the report said.
“The fight against hate crimes requires community, faith and political leaders willing to take an active role in denouncing hate, investing in reporting, prevention and protection, and enhancing educational efforts,” DiNapoli said in the report.
“Fighting hatred and bigotry demands that we communicate with, respect and accept our neighbors. It requires our spiritual, political, community and business leaders to take active roles in denouncing hate, investing in prevention and protection efforts, and increasing education.”