The number of anti-Semitic hate crimes in New York City has spiked in 2019, the city said last week.
According to Deputy Inspector Mark Molinari at the New York Police Department, 311 hate crimes were reported through September, of which 52% (163 incidents) were classified as anti-Semitic.
During the equivalent period in 2018, the city had 250 hate crimes, of which only 108 (43%) appeared to target Jews.
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Molinari, who heads the department's Hate Crimes Task Force, spoke about the rise of anti-Semitic incidents at an event attended by donors of United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York on Thursday.
Deborah Lauter, who heads the new Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes at City Hall, appeared next to him.
She said the situation required a more robust effort on the part of Jewish communities to engage other faiths and ethnic groups.
"The Jewish community at one point started withdrawing from its community relations agenda," she said. "We're feeling the repercussions now. This is hard work. You've got to do the long game on addressing these problems.
According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, during the event, the UJA-Federation revealed a new initiative to counter anti-Semitism in the area.
"Together with the local Jewish Community Relations Council, UJA is investing $4 million over two years in physical security upgrades for 2,000 Jewish institutions," JTA reported.
