Most Hate Crimes in New York City Are Committed Against Jews by Members of Other Minority Groups

As part of the Hate Crime Accountability Project, Americans Against Antisemitism documented 194 cases of anti-Jewish hate crime assaults in New York City between April 2018 and August 2022. The group identities of the perpetrators of these assaults were documented for 99 assaults, with the data showing that 97% of those anti-Jewish assaults were committed by members of other minority groups. Also, 94% of the targeted Jews were easily identifiable as Jewish because they were observant Jews dressed in the distinctive clothing worn by observant Jews. In other words, the vast majority of violent assaults against Jews in New York during a four year period were committed by minority group members against visibly identifiable Jews. These facts contradict the widespread notions (1) that minority members cannot be racist/do not commit hate crimes, and (2) that the greatest threat to the Jewish people emanates from extreme right-wing individuals/groups. Nearly 80% of the documented attacks happened in just four Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods in Brooklyn. 

When you know the likely location, the likely criminals, and the likely victims, crime prevention should be possible. Increased police patrols of the targeted neighborhoods, heightened security measures for the targeted population, and increased efforts to educate potential criminals before they commit hate crimes are just three of the obvious measures that should be implemented. A fourth obvious measure is more aggressive prosecution and more severe punishments for those who commit hate crime assaults. Unfortunately, only two of the 194 documented hate crime assaults cited in the study resulted in incarceration for the perpetrators. 

Dov Hikind, a former New York State Assemblyman and the founder of Americans Against Antisemitism, decries the lack of meaningful government efforts to combat antisemitism: "Why doesn't anybody want to talk about the real facts on the ground? Because it's not politically correct. How do you solve a problem if you don't deal with the problem? If you don't face up to the reality of where the hate is coming from, and then start asking the questions? That's why we're spinning our wheels, going in circles and things are getting worse and worse."

The prevalence of antisemitism within the Black community, as demonstrated by recent antisemitic public controversies involving Kanye West and Kyrie Irving, cannot be ignored by anyone who is serious about confronting antisemitism. The notion that certain people or groups cannot be antisemitic because they have declared themselves to be Semites is easily refuted by anyone who knows the etymology of the word antisemite and the accurate definition of antisemitism. West and Irving did not cause antisemitism in the Black community, but their words and deeds exacerbated the underlying problem.

Another problem is the persistent perception--often promoted by many large media outlets--that antisemitism from the political Right is more prevalent and more dangerous than antisemitism from the political Left. The political Left boasts about defending the downtrodden and promoting "intersectionality," but until the Democratic Party unhesitatingly repudiates the antisemitism from self-proclaimed "progressives" including but not limited to the "Squad" the political Left has little credibility on social justice issues. As Hikind correctly noted, it is important to "face up to the reality of where the hate is coming from"--and, for Jews in New York City, the hate is coming more often from their Black neighbors than from white supremacists.