Nearly half of the hate crimes reported in New York State last year targeted Jews, a new report released by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli revealed on Thursday. According to the report, approximately 44% of all hate crimes recorded in 2023 were antisemitic in nature. There has been a dramatic 89% increase in antisemitic hate crimes since 2018, reaching 477 cases last year.
DiNapoli urged, "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.”
Meanwhile, the New York Police Department (NYPD) reported it’s currently on a manhunt for a suspect involved in an antisemitic attack in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan. The incident began when the suspect attacked a 65-year-old Jewish man who was walking in the park and passing by.
According to reports, the assailant shouted "Hitler was right" at the victim, removed his medical face mask and spat in his face. The police released images of the suspect, who was seen wearing a colorful shirt, black pants, a black hat and carrying several bags.
The NYPD and its Hate Crimes Unit are investigating the incident and attempting to locate the suspect, who fled the scene after the attack. The case adds to the alarming rise in antisemitic incidents in the city since October 7. In July alone, 30 cases of antisemitic crimes were reported compared to just 10 in the same month year-on-year.
Earlier this month, a 30-year-old Israeli Hasidic man, Yechiel Dubrovskin, received minor injuries in a stabbing near the global Chabad headquarters in Brooklyn. The incident occurred early in the morning when a 22-year-old man, Vincent Sumpter, approached the victim and other Hasidic men sitting near the building, shouting "Free Palestine."
He then allegedly asked the victim, who had come to Crown Heights to study at a yeshiva, if he “wanted to die,” before attacking him. Witnesses to the incident chased the assailant and held him until the police arrived.
Yaacov Behrman, a spokesperson for Chabad headquarters in Brooklyn, said, "This is an extremely serious incident. The victim could have been killed. This act of hateful violence highlights the dangerous impact of anti-Semitic incitement and hate propagated by some local politicians and leaders in New York and across the United States.
According to Dubrovskin, the knife missed his heart by four centimeters. An online fundraising campaign for him raised over $20,000 within a day of the incident. White House Senior Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates commented on the incident, calling it "appalling" and saying "our prayers are with the victim."
“Like President Biden and Vice President [Harris] have consistently said: Antisemitism and violence have no place in this country whatsoever. As Americans, we must come together and speak with one voice against the horrifying rise in antisemitism that is an affront to our most deeply held values,” he added.