Mayor Eric Adams is holding a brainstorming summit at Gracie Mansion Tuesday where he will meet with civil and social justice leaders to discuss potential solutions in curbing rising acts of hate.
The “Abate Hate” summit will feature prominent leaders from government, faith groups, and organizations such as civil rights attorney Norman Siegel. The focus is anticipated to spotlight the rise of antisemitism due to the ongoing war in the Middle East.
According to NYPD statistics, hate crimes against the city’s Jewish community have skyrocketed since the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7. In June alone, police say acts of hate with antisemitic bias rose 137%. Cops report there were 45 hate crimes in June compared to just 19 at the same time last year.
“We need to speak up in opposition to hate and hate violence,” said Siegel, former executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, ahead of the conference. “Silence can be interpreted as condoning hate and hate violence. It is our moment for New Yorkers to unite –people of goodwill to build bridges across racial, religious, ethnic, gender and sexual orientation lines- to develop and implement a citywide campaign to abate hate and hate violence. I thank Mayor Adams for hosting this ‘Abate Hate’ convening and for encouraging us to oppose all forms of intolerance.”
With the start of the college semester on the horizon, much of the discussions are predicted to touch upon hate within the educational system following large-scale protests seen at Columbia University, as well as violence in the political sphere following the attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life.
“Our nation and society are threatened by rising levels of hate and intolerance, but this diverse group of students, lawyers, advocates, faith leaders, and more are coming together because we cannot let this hate to continue; we must protect public safety and public order,” said Mayor Eric Adams. “Hate has no place in our city, and at the end of this conference, my hope is that we will all be able to create an action plan to abate hate in our city and our nation, to promote human rights and civil rights, and to promote the most sacred principles that this country was founded on, including democracy and religious tolerance.”
