DAY OF HATE ..... IS THAT AN OFFICIAL HOLIDAY?

NYPD to boost patrols over threats from extremists groups on anti-Semitic ‘Day of Hate’ 

 

By Tina Moore, Elizabeth Rosner and Amanda Woods

 

New York Post 

February 24, 2023

 

The NYPD said it will “deploy additional resources to sensitive locations, including houses of worship, throughout the weekend.”

 

The NYPD is ramping up its patrols of local Jewish centers to brace for a potential national “Day of Hate” on Saturday.

A leaked internal memo by the Police Department’s Intelligence and Counterterrorism Bureau says online extremist groups are “instructing like minded individuals to drop banners, place stickers and flyers, or scrawl graffiti as a form of biased so-called action” against Jewish people.

The hateful posts warn of “antisemitic and white supremacist propaganda distributions and banner drops,” the Anti-Defamation League tweeted. 

In a statement, the NYPD said there are “no identified threats to New York City” but that “out of an abundance of caution, the Department will deploy additional resources to sensitive locations, including houses of worship, throughout the weekend.

“We urge all New Yorkers to remain vigilant, and if you see anything suspicious, please call 1-888–NYC-SAFE,” a department rep said. 

But Brooke Goldstein, co-founder of the End Jew Hatred movement, told The Post she believes that law enforcement isn’t doing enough. 

“It’s tone-deaf for the NYPD to focus on whether there is a specific ‘credible threat’ rather than acknowledge that the Jewish community is under constant threat,” Goldstein said. “This does nothing to assuage the very real concerns and fears of the city’s Jewish population.”

Goldstein’s concerns come weeks after Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg granted a sweetheart deal to Waseem Awawdeh, one of six suspects nabbed in connection with the May 20, 2021, attack on Jewish man, Joseph Borgen.

Borgen was knocked to the ground, punched, kicked, pepper-sprayed, struck with crutches and assailed with anti-Semitic statements on Broadway near West 49th Street.

 

Brooke Goldstein, the co-founder of the End Jew Hatred movement, described the NYPD’s response as “tone-deaf” and said the department isn’t doing enough to protect the Jewish community.

The controversial prosecutor’s office granted Awawdeh a six-month plea-deal offer – a slap on the wrist compared to the up to seven years he would face if convicted of the charges, including attempted assault as a hate crime, at trial.

At the time, a representative for Bragg’s office defended the deal, claiming Awawdeh did not initiate the attack but rather was the sixth person to join and left before it was over.

“While we are grateful for the vigilance of the NYPD and law enforcement, we are concerned that when prosecutors like Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg cut deals with perpetrators of hate crimes, they are signaling that it’s open season on the Jewish community,” Goldstein said Friday. 

 There are no specific threats to New York City, but cops are taking precautions, the NYPD said.

 

“They need to put criminals behind bars to send the clear message that any so-called ‘Day of Hate’ will not be tolerated. If they can’t or won’t fight to uphold the law, the Department of Justice must step in to uphold our civil rights.”

The Manhattan DA’s office did not immediately reply to a request for comment. 

The American Jewish Committee advised its Twitter followers that “Neo-Nazi groups are reportedly organizing a national ‘Day of Hate’ against Jews on Saturday.

“We will not be intimidated,” the tweet said. “We are resilient. We are strong. We are #JewishandProud.”

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams also posted about the threats, declaring that “antisemitism has no place in New York City.

“While we’re not aware of credible threats for tomorrow’s “National Day of Hate” planned by neo-nazi extremists, we stand firmly with our Jewish neighbors. NYC, let’s look out for one another,” he wrote.