Hate crimes in New York City have been on the rise for the fourth consecutive year, driven by a spike in anti-Semitic incidents, according to city crime statistics.
According to the most recent data available, there were 276 hate crime complaints in the city through May 31, up from 210 in 2023. Nearly all of the increase was anti-Semitic incidents, which rose from 97 to 164 in the same period.
The rise in anti-Semitic incidents coincided with anti-Israel protests on the campuses of the city’s major universities, including Columbia University and New York University.
“That’s not a coincidence,” said Joseph Giacalone, a former NYPD sergeant and professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Palestinian man in New York convicted of brutal anti-Semitic attack, judge ushers angry supporters out of courtroom
People march in New York on October 8, 2023 in support of the Palestinians after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched terrorist attacks against Israel. (Brian R. Smith/AFP)
He said anti-Semitic incidents have always been the most common hate crime in New York, and the recent spike is not surprising given the surge in campus demonstrations and widespread coverage in the news.
“What we’ve seen on college campuses has been brought onto the streets, so to speak,” he said. “People are seeing this, they’re being bombarded with these images on television and social media, and they’re acting on them.”
Giacalone criticized university officials for failing to act earlier on student complaints of anti-Semitism during anti-Israel protests on campus earlier this year.
Mahmoud Musa, a Palestinian New Yorker, appeared in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, New York, on November 21, 2023, to be sentenced. Musa pleaded guilty to attacking a Jewish man in Times Square in May 2021 and was sentenced to seven years in prison. (John M. Mantell for Fox News Digital)
Republican parents in New York suburbs approve armed security for public schools
“Not only have they failed to act, they’re shielding professors who have been teaching this for decades,” he said. “And now that it’s finally here, it’s playing perfectly into the conservative narrative of how colleges have brainwashed young Americans into hating their country and many things about it.”
At Columbia University, faculty and staff reportedly supported student agitators by physically blocking critics who had set up a makeshift encampment on campus, including forming human chains around kefir-clad students. The encampment only ended after the school asked the NYPD to remove the group, who had blocked off the university’s Hamilton Hall building.
Video: Anti-Israel protesters at NYU form human chain after police intervention
Armed groups threaten pastors and congregants, churches turn to armed volunteers
Anti-Asian hate crimes, which became a prominent issue for New York’s large Asian American community last year, fell by half by May 31, 2024, compared to the previous year.
Citywide crime statistics were down slightly in May, by 2.4 percent overall, driven mostly by a 21.1 percent drop in homicides. However, rapes, robberies, shootings and felony assaults all increased. Police attributed most of these increases to robberies of electric scooters, a scooter-related crime that has plagued the city for months.
Giacalone said scooter robberies continue to be a growing threat, with scooter-related crime patterns, which the city defines as two or more crimes that share similarities, having increased fourfold so far this year.
Anti-Israel protesters smash windows in Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in New York City on April 30, 2024. Hamilton Hall is an academic building that has been occupied by protesters. (Alex Kent/Getty Images)
House Republicans call for stripping tax money from universities over anti-Semitic protests
These crimes continue to occur even after the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office cracked down on a robbery ring linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua earlier this year.
“It’s a whack-a-mole situation, if they’re not given bail, if they’re not given detention, [Immigration and Customs Enforcement]and then you just let them go, and they also think it’s a joke,” Giacalone said.
Traffic crime fell 10.6 percent after city and state leaders increased patrols of the subway system, reinstated random baggage checks and called in the National Guard to help.
Bronx rally attendees highlight two key issues that could help Trump gain advantage in blue states
Video: New York strap attendants talk about subway crime
Click here for the FOX News App
“By acting quickly and strategically deploying resources, NYPD officers continue to change the course of crime in neighborhoods across New York City and beneath our vast subway system,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Cabana said in a statement.
“We are committed to getting ahead of crime trends by directly addressing community concerns, disrupting emerging crime patterns and dismantling criminal networks where they operate. New Yorkers expect and deserve more than that.”
