At a Dec. 19 roundtable for Jewish reporters at City Hall, New York City Mayor Eric Adams spoke about his criminal history, including anti-Semitic hate crimes, and called out Jewish officials in his administration. He praised the way he had been promoted.
“I see myself in a very important place in my administration, not just a symbolic place, but a very important place,” he told about two dozen Jewish journalists who attended the event. I can do it,” he said. “But we also work on symbolism because we think symbolism is important. I think the mayor has to be both symbolic and substantive.”
“Many people thought that the Israeli Independence Day parade could not continue,” the mayor told Jewish media while munching on carrots during the meeting.
“We did not run away from protecting our people. We did not do that,” he said. “It was the safest demonstration of Israeli independence, but it also showed the community what we do every day.”
“This city is back. People said it would take five years. Two years, we actually did it in six months,” he said. “We are thrilled that crime continues to decline by almost 2% annually. Our subway system is extremely safe, and this is a place where I say public safety is a prerequisite to prosperity. When, this is a community that values that probably more than any other community in the city.”
Adams' meeting was attended by three Jewish executives: New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and New York City Fire Chief. robert tucker and Fred Kreizman, commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Community Affairs. (Adams also mentioned New York City Emergency Management Director Zach Iskol, who is Jewish.)
The mayor told one Jewish reporter that there needs to be “a real balance that allows for peaceful protests and violent protests.”
“Our legal team and corporate counsel at the NYPD are keeping an eye on us to make sure we don't cross that line,” he said, according to official City Hall records. “There are many days when I want to do that, but when I hear people say 'Death to America,' [are] “When you hear people spouting hateful tongues wearing Hamas T-shirts, believe me, we want to go in and lock them up so they don’t do things like that. But the law doesn't allow that.”
“Sometimes people say, 'Why can't we stop?' Because we can't. There are trade-offs to living in America, and we have to make sure we stay within the bounds of what we can do.” said the mayor.
“But we push the limits. When we start lighting smoke bombs, we say, 'We're not going to march down certain blocks,' 'We're not going to march in front of certain very important places or communities. 'No,' and if people violate that, we will take action,” he said. He added, according to the transcript: “And we have made sure that people can move through the city without being attacked. The NYPD is committed to ensuring that someone breaks the law and forms anti-Semitism, from swastikas to assault and harassment.” He was arrested every time.”
“Crown Jewel”
New York City has seen a 35% increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes since October 7, 2023, compared to 374 crimes reported in 2023, according to Police Commissioner Tisch. A total of 506 hate crimes were reported.
Deputy Police Chief Michael Garber told a Jewish reporter that the department's hate crimes unit is “truly one of the crown jewels” of the NYPD. “We have a lot of detectives, but it's really an elite unit,” he said.
When asked if there was an issue of under-reporting of hate crimes, including anti-Semitism, Garber said, “Part of tackling that problem is outreach to different communities, and that's why criminal “That's what we do every day, both through our agents and our investigators.” Community issues. ”
“We build these relationships so people feel comfortable coming forward,” he says. “It's always a work in progress.”
New York City Police Department Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism Rebecca Weiner told attendees, “Unfortunately, there has been an atmosphere of fear since October 7th,'' but added, “A bright spot in a very dark year.'' “If there's any indication, it's what we feel.” People started coming forward and letting us know, and it became more open and more understanding. ”
Asked to review the city's efforts to respond to the “pro-Palestinian” protests, Kreisman, the community affairs director, told reporters that under Adams' direction, city officials have “improved collaboration with stakeholders in the Muslim community.” “We have ensured that the Muslim community is safe, diverted the attention of the Muslim community, and have ensured cooperation.” These protests were not held in specific areas or in front of specific facilities such as houses of worship. ”
In doing so, the city avoided “a larger scale, a larger conflict,” and ensured “appropriate coordination with the police, of course,” Kreizman said.
JNS has asked the mayor's office for comment on what it means for city officials to consult with Muslim “stakeholders.” A city official told JNS that a Muslim representative from the Community Affairs Division “talked with pro-Palestinian protesters who had originally planned to enter Jewish communities like Crown Heights on the Sabbath to reroute them.” “There were times when we cooperated,” he told JNS of the background. Into less provocative territory. ”
The police cannot get out of this situation on their own.
“Anti-Semitism is on the rise in all walks of life, including the African American community,” the Jewish radio host said during the event. “As the mayor of New York and a respected African-American leader, what can you do to reduce anti-Semitism in the black community?”
Adams agreed with the premise of the question. “It's clear when you look at the numbers,” he says. “Many of these cases deal with youth and African-American youth, especially juveniles.”
“No. 1. To truly value our diversity, we must make our education system better,” the mayor said. “No. 2, we need to be creative as adults.” He added that the city “has to get young people together so they can sit in the same room.” A lot of hate comes from ignorance and I think we can stop the increase in hate by allowing young people to come in and cross-pollinate their ideas and cultures. ”
“Police alone won't be able to get us out of this situation,” he said, according to city records. “Because if you hate being arrested, that hatred will remain even when you are released. So we need to educate how to get out of this situation, and as adults, we need to educate our children on other children. We need to invite them into our environment. And we need to take a strong stance.”
“I believe there should be a zero plea bargain rule if someone is arrested for hate,” he added. “I think all district attorneys should be on the same page. If you attack someone because of their race, religion, ethnicity, etc., there should be rules against plea bargaining, and people should be able to They should be held accountable by law.”
To emphasize his point about expanding cultural education, Adams shared an anecdote about how a young black student at Howard University accosted him on the street and yelled at him for being a Zionist.
“While she was yelling at me, I was Googling one of the co-founders of Howard University, which is a very important school in the black community,” Adams told a Jewish reporter. Ta. “I just gave her my cell phone and she read it and found out that Julius Rosenwald was one of the co-founders of Howard University.”
“He was also a co-founder of Dillard University, a historically black college, and a co-founder of the NAACP,” he said. “So she sat there and read the book, amazed that what she had spewed and hated was playing a role in her going to school and getting an education.”
“We need to expose the ignorance that there is no connection between our culture and Jewish culture,” Adams said.
