New York City Mayor Adams announces new Office to Combat Antisemitism

NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams Tuesday announced a caller metropolis Office to Combat Antisemitism amid a surge successful anti-Jewish hatred crimes and an expanding absorption connected the contented successful this year’s mayoral race.

The politician said NYPD stats amusement that much than half of hatred crimes are antisemitic contempt Jewish New Yorkers making up astir 10% of the city’s population. He called that an “imbalance” that indispensable beryllium knocked down.

Adams called the caller bureau “a symbolic gesture, but astir importantly, a substantive gesture” astatine a Tuesday property conference. The caller bureau comes contempt the beingness of a akin bureau successful his administration that was formed successful 2019, besides successful effect to a emergence successful antisemitic hatred transgression incidents.

The caller office, which is made up of conscionable 1 person, comes amid a hotly contested mayoral predetermination in which antisemitism — and the ongoing struggle successful Gaza — person travel into crisp focus.

In November, Adams, who’s running arsenic an independent, could look disconnected against Andrew Cuomo, the front-runner successful the Democratic primary, and apt a progressive campaigner moving connected the Working Families Party line. Both Adams and Cuomo are precise pro-Israel, and are vying for Orthodox and blimpish Jewish voters, important voting blocks for the candidates.

Moshe Davis, who’s been the administration’s Jewish liaison since 2022, volition service arsenic the enforcement manager nether First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro.

The bureau volition enactment to found a task unit focused connected antisemitism comprised of the Mayor’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, the constabulary department, the city’s Commission connected Human Rights and others, according to an executive order establishing the office. It’ll besides show tribunal cases and counsel connected enforcement orders and legislation, the politician said.

​​”This bureau volition beryllium a sledgehammer, deliberate, coordinated and unapologetic,” Davis said astatine its announcement.

Adams suggested the bureau volition people assemblage field protests, organizations that person taxpayers dollars, an evident notation to a called-off Summerstage concert by Kehlani, a pro-Palestine singer, and metropolis messaging including a Department of Education pamphlet that called Israel’s actions successful Palestine a “genocide.”

“We conscionable saw a newsletter spell retired the different time that was despicable, what they were promoting,” Adams said. “And truthful we person to proactively show what is leaving our agencies. We cannot beryllium the feeder of hate.”

Adams is petitioning connected an “EndAntiSemitism” ballot line, successful summation to a “Safe&Affordable” line, for the November election.

The determination besides comes aft President Trump formed an “Anti-Semitism” task unit that has targeted and chopped funding from universities.

Brad Lander, the city’s comptroller moving for mayor, accused the politician of utilizing Jewish New Yorkers arsenic “pawns” successful a statement.

“Creating a taxpayer-funded bureau successful the waning days of his mayoralty to rhyme with his made-up idiosyncratic ballot enactment is cynical and transparent, adjacent for this mayor,” helium said.

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