Quantcast

As High Holy Days approach, NYPD reports no credible threats against Jewish community

image-256
Mayor Bill de Blasio greets religious leaders before the start of the NYPD’s annual high holy days security briefing Wednesday at One Police Plaza. Photo Credit: Charles Eckert
Mayor Bill de Blasio greets religious leaders before the start of the NYPD's annual high holy days security briefing Wednesday at One Police Plaza.
Mayor Bill de Blasio greets religious leaders before the start of the NYPD’s annual high holy days security briefing Wednesday at One Police Plaza. Photo Credit: Linda Rosier

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner James O’Neill said Wednesday there is no credible threat against the Jewish community as the High Holy Days approach. However, due to a rise in reported hate crimes, they are urging New Yorkers to be vigilant.

Reported anti-Semitic crimes in the city have risen 60% year-to-date compared to the same period in 2018, and arrests for those crimes are up 27%, according to the NYPD. O’Neill said he and the department take these spikes very seriously, and reassured a group of rabbis and other leaders at NYPD headquarters that the police will be on alert during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

"We are not going to hide from this. It only strengthens our resolve," he said. 

De Blasio, who launched the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes last month, said the city will continue to fight against the rise in hate speech and offenses reported across the country. He encouraged New Yorkers to fight back against white nationalism. 

"The community is under attack, and it’s under attack in ways we haven’t seen in a while," he said. "We will not accept hatred in New York City."