In New York City, antisemitic hate crimes have become a near-daily occurrence. Already this year, a stranger has punched a Jewish man on the F train, a Kentucky tourist told a Hasidic man “I want ISIS to kill all of you,” and a visitor from Utah threatened to bomb a Lexington Avenue synagogue. Out of the 123 hate crimes that have taken place this year, 74—or 60 percent—of them have been against Jews. That’s even though only 10 percent of the city’s population is Jewish.
Now, New York mayor Eric Adams is unveiling a new initiative to confront the crisis: the Office to Combat Antisemitism. According to plans shared exclusively with The Free Press, the interagency task force will issue legislative recommendations, track prosecutions, and advise the city’s Law Department on potential hate crime cases.