City officials have been concerned about New York seeing a rise in hate crimes in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.
This past weekend, a woman was punched in the subway in an apparent antisemitic attack.
The NYPD is also investigating incidents in Brooklyn. One incident involved a man being attacked for carrying a Palestinian flag.
In other parts of the country, a six-year-old Palestinian American boy in Illinois was fatally stabbed by his landlord.
Recent statistics released by the FBI reported more than 1,100 hate crime incidents last year. This is the highest rate since the agency started collecting the data in 1991.
A new book, “We Need to Talk About Antisemitism,” analyzes the rising antisemitism in America and how everyone can be empowered to fight against it.
Author and Rabbi Diana Fersko joined NY1 political anchor Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” Thursday to talk more about the difficult conversations she has had with her congregation about the antisemitism they face.
“I think many people, particularly in my generation, were raised to understand antisemitism as something historical,” Fersko said. “Antisemitism is like a virus, and it has a way of hanging around and creeping back into everyday life.”