New York antisemitic hate crimes up 125 percent in November, NYPD says

The NYPD recorded 45 antisemitic hate crimes in November 2022. In November 2021, it recorded 20.

By Dion J. Pierre, The Algemeiner

Antisemitic hate crimes in New York City during the month of November increased by 125 percent when compared to last year, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) reported on Monday.

The NYPD recorded 45 antisemitic hate crimes in November 2022. In November 2021, it recorded 20. According to the data, Jewish New Yorkers were the most targeted group, accounting for 60 percent of all hate crimes that occurred.

There were several incidents of note in November, including a series of antisemitic and racist notes sent to several restaurants in the City Island neighborhood of the Bronx, the shooting of Hasidic Jews with a gel gun, and the uncovering of a plot to attack synagogues in Manhattan.

“The scariest part of reviewing these numbers is the lack of a concrete plan or solutions on how to combat the hate crimes against the most discriminated ethnic minority in New York City,” New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov told The Algemeiner on Monday.

More antisemitic incidents were recorded in New York than in any other state, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported in April, noting that it tallied 416, which “accounted for an astounding 15 percent of the total reported antisemitic incidents across the country.”

New York City has also experienced a recent uptick in crime. Overall crime numbers are up by over 32 percent over the past two years, according to city data.

Year to year comparisons show increases in antisemitic hate crimes for every month in 2022 except for April and May. Recently, a mobile Jewish education and social services center was vandalized in New York City during the early morning hours of October 30, with someone graffitiing “Palestine” on a “Mitzvah Tank” operated by the Chabad Jewish movement. Days later, a Jewish day school in the Upper East Side section New York City was vandalized.

On October 24, three yeshiva students were walking home in the Midwood section of Brooklyn when a gang of 11 students approached them, punched one of their group in the face and hurled eggs at the others, according to eyewitness accounts. The gang ordered them to say “Free Palestine” during the attack.

One of the victims, the son of Michael Einhorn, who spoke to The Algemeiner, was assaulted while his friends managed to run away. After the incident, the NYPD released surveillance footage and photographs of several suspected assailants, which showed five young men walking toward Yeshiva Ohr Shraga, a Jewish school in the Midwood section of Brooklyn, with eggs in their hands.

The NYPD has arrested and charged two of the young men suspected of participating in the assault.