Mayor Repeats that Education and Clear Consequences are Ways to Fight anti-Semitic Hate Crimes

On Dec. 30, 2020, the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force reported that crimes that were motivated by anti-Semitism accounted for nearly half of the total number hate crimes. A shocking 118 out of 264 hate crimes were perpetrated against Jews last year, while 25 crimes that were associated with coronavirus were committed against Asian people, and only three hate crimes with no connection to COVID were recorded to be directed at Asians in New York City.

   In response to an increase in hate crimes against Asians as a result of COVID-19, in October, the NYPD formed an Asian Hate Crime Task Force, which was its first-ever task force that is dedicated to investigating crimes targeting a single race.

     In explaining the need for the Asian Hate Crime Task Force, which is staff by 25 detectives who speak nine Asian languages, the mayor this morning told BoroPark24, “The hate crimes [against Asian communities] have come up in a new way as a result of the coronavirus.

    "There was a need for a pinpointed effort and a new kind of effort.”

    After pointing out the horrifyingly large number of hate crimes that were directed at Jews last year, BoroPark 24 asked the mayor whether would he ever consider increasing a police presence in visibly Jewish neighborhoods, or would he consider creating a Task Force that is dedicated to fight hate crimes that are perpetrated against Jews?

    The answer seemed to be “no” to answer whether the NYPD would consider creating a Task Force that is dedicating to fighting anti-Semitism in a city that is one to 1.1 million Jews, or 13% of the city’s population.

    As he often has done before, the mayor spoke about education in public schools as a way to fight anti-Semitism, but considering the facts of many anti-Semitic crimes, such as they are often committed by people who are not stable, the mayor’s education strategy does not sound promising, as insane people cannot be educated.

    After Grafton E. Thomas, for instance, used a machete last Chanukah to kill 72-year-old Rabbi  Yosef Neumann, severed one man’s finger, and made slash wounds and deep cuts on four others at the Monsey home Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg of Congregation Netzach Yisroel, Thomas’s own lawyers have continued to argue that Grafton is too mentally unstable to stand trial.

    How can mentally unstable people be “educated”?

   “The hate crimes against the Jewish community are absolutely unacceptable,” Mayor de Blasio told BoroPark 24. “I have said repeatedly, the only way to address them is a combination of clear consequences for the perpetrators and more and more education against anti-Semitism.”

   “We will keep doing those two things. But whatever combination of tools we need, we are going to use them because we will not allow hate crimes against the Jewish community in this city.”

Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.