BROOKLYN — After meeting with Jewish community leaders Sunday, Mayor Bill de Blasio called for immediate action to be taken against those suspected of committing two anti-Semitic attacks in Brooklyn on Saturday night.
“I want to be very clear from the beginning: Anti-Semitism will not be tolerated in New York City. I want everyone to hear this loud and clear. We will stomp out anti-Semitism anywhere we find it,” the mayor said, standing inside the 66th Police Precinct in Borough Park. “Anyone who perpetrates an act of hatred will be found, they will be prosecuted, they will suffer the consequences."
The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the two incidents, which they say could be connected.
In one case, police say two men assaulted a pair of teenagers in Kensinton on Ocean Parkway after telling them to repeat hateful remarks.
When the teens refused, police say they were punched and choked.
Investigators say the same people may also be responsible for harassing a group outside a synagogue in Borough Park.
Police say both incidents happened Saturday, but it's not clear which incident happened first. No arrests have been made in connection to the two incidents as of this writing.
“Any assault is bad enough, but any assault that’s based on hate, that adds to the potential consequences under the law,” de Blasio said. “There is a stain of anti-Semitism that still lurks in this city, in this country and around the world. It has been here for thousands of years, and every time people try to say it’s going away it hasn’t gone away. Anti-Semitism is too alive and well and must be stopped. You don’t just stop it with words, you stop it with actions.”
According to the mayor and the NYPD’s Chief of Department Rodney Harrison, the NYPD will be stepping up enforcement and adding more resources in Jewish neighborhoods.
“You will see a larger presence of our police officers in our communities of concern,” Harrison said. “We’re deploying our critical response command officers to these communities. We’re going to have our strategic response group deployed to these communities. We’re also reaching out to our mobile field forces and making sure that they’re in these communities as well.”
Harrison added that officers will be driving around certain neighborhoods with turret lights on as a deterrent against further anti-Semitic actions.
Rabbi Freilich, who also joined the city leaders, emphasized the need for more officers in Jewish neighborhoods, especially during Shabbat, when many Jews refrain from using electrical devices.
"On the weekends, when we don't have any phones or any type of equipment, we can't drive cars or do anything else, it's important to have police presence," the rabbi said.