Brooklyn Democratic Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke on the day after Christmas said she was “appalled” by the uptick in anti-Semitic hate crimes in Brooklyn and the greater New York City area.
“I am deeply appalled by the recent spew of anti-Semitic hate crimes in our city, especially during Hanukkah, the season of celebrating our light overcoming darkness,” said Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn.
“I am proud to serve a diverse community that has come together to rise in the face of hate and to protect and uplift our neighbors; that is the Brooklyn way,” she added, stating that the 9th Congressional District is “home to some of America’s oldest Jewish communities, and I will continue to fight to ensure their culture is respected and that their community is protected.
“Violence toward our Jewish community will not be tolerated under any circumstances,” Clarke continued. “My office will continue to monitor and work with local officials and law enforcement to end this violence and acts of hatred, and to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
On Christmas Day, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he was “disgusted to learn of the verbal and physical attack” against an Orthodox Jewish man on the upper East side of Manhattan on Tuesday.
“This horrific and cowardly act of anti-Semitism is repugnant to our values, and it’s even more despicable that it occurred over the holidays,” said the governor, disclosing that the was directing the State Police hate crimes task force to provide the New York Police Department (NYPD) with assistance in its investigation and “to hold the attacker responsible to the fullest extent of the law.”
“I’ve said it before, and I will say it again: We have absolutely zero tolerance for bigotry and hate, and we will continue to call it out whenever and wherever it rears its ugly head,” Cuomo affirmed.
