August 30, 2019

The IRF is deeply troubled by the new "normal" of the rising incidents of hate crimes, including vicious physical assaults, against recognizable Jewish persons on the streets of Boro Park, Williamsburg and other heavily Hareidi neighborhoods in the New York area during the last two years.

This has been coupled with growing number of incidents of anti-semitism including trying to prevent Orthodox and Hareidi Jews from moving into certain communities and hate speech directed towards them. The ADL, government agencies and some media outlets have noted the growing assaults and hatred directed towards Hareidi citizens in the NY area. Indeed, a majority of hate crimes committed in New York City in the last number of years have been directed at Jews and the majority of those have been directed at Orthodox and Hareidi Jews. 

The IRF expresses its solidarity with these communities and calls on law enforcement and elected officials to do more and put into place more effective programs, both educational as well as practical policing practices, to stamp out this disturbing trend.