In NYC, a Rash of Anti-Semitic Incidents During Hanukkah

NYPD increases presences in Jewish neighborhoods
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 27, 2019 3:55 PM CST
NYPD Ramps Up Patrols After Anti-Semitic Incidents
Orthodox Jewish men pass New York City police officers guarding a Brooklyn synagogue on Dec. 11. A funeral was held that day for Mosche Deutsch, who was killed in a shooting in a market in Jersey City, New Jersey.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

New York City is sending more police into Brooklyn neighborhoods with significant Jewish populations after a series of anti-Semitic incidents. Two cases were reported Friday, in the middle of Hanukkah, ABC7 reports. Three women who were together said they were harassed and slapped along a street in Crown Heights. Police arrested a 30-year-old woman. Later, a man entered Lubavitch World Headquarters in Crown Heights, threatened to open fire, then walked out. "Anti-Semitism is an attack on the values of our city—and we will confront it head-on," Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted. In addition to increasing patrols, officers will check on houses of worship and other community sites, he said. The police department's Hate Crime Task Force is investigating at least five reported cases, per CNN.

An assault was reported Monday in Manhattan, near Grand Central Terminal. A 65-year-old man said he was kicked and punched by a man yelling, "F---- you, Jew." Police arrested a 28-year-old man. Later that morning in Brooklyn, a man said teenagers came up to his son, 6, and a 7-year-old from behind and hit them in the lobby of a building. On Tuesday, a group reportedly yelled slurs at a 25-year-old man and threw a drink at him, and a 56-year-old man said he was approached by a group and punched on the street. A 42-year-old woman is charged with a hate crime after police said she attacked a Jewish woman, hitting her in the face with her bag, in front of the victim's 3-year-old. A former state assemblyman wants de Blasio to declare a state of emergency. "Right now, anti-Semitism, it's not being dealt with," Dov Hikind said. "You condemn, you move on, you condemn the next one." (More antisemitism stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X