New York Plans Push On Hate — As Bias Crime Soars
Gov. Andrew Cuomo Image by Getty Images
(JTA) — New York State reportedly will establish a hate crimes task force.
The task force, which will identify and investigate hate crimes and discriminatory practices, will be established using $1 million set aside in the new state budget passed earlier this month, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.
It will be made up of members of the New York State Police, who will work with the state Division of Human Rights, prosecutors and local school and law enforcement officials, the AP reported, citing the office of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Following the vandalism at a Jewish cemetery in Rochester, New York, Cuomo said in a statement, “New York has zero tolerance for bias or discrimination of any kind, and we will always stand united in the face of anti-Semitism and divisiveness.”
In mid-February, a report said that hate crimes against Jews more than doubled in New York City since the start of the new year from the same period in 2016.
The city’s Police Department said 56 hate crimes were reported from Jan. 1 to Feb. 12, with 28 of the incidents targeting Jews, a sharp rise from 2016.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
