Antisemitic hate crimes in NYC spiked in first months of 2024

NEW YORK — Antisemitic hate crimes in New York City have spiked as conflict continues to rage in the Middle East.

As of Sunday, there have been 96 hate-fueled incidents targeting Jewish people, according to NYPD stats. The figure marked a 45% uptick compared with the same time frame last year, when cops investigated 66 antisemitic hate crimes.

The attacks against Jewish New Yorkers made up 56% of hate-motivated crimes across the five boroughs, the stats showed.

Crimes against Muslims also surged, with cops investigating nine incidents since the start of the year compared with just one as of the same time in 2023.

Overall, hate crimes were up 33% so far in 2024, with downticks in only two categories — incidents aimed at Black people and at white people. Crimes against Asian people have remained the same, with eight incidents in the first months of both 2023 and 2024.

Crimes motivated by sexual orientation also stayed flat, with 17 confirmed attacks so far this year. The first few months of 2023 saw the same number of crimes.

In February, a 25-year-old Jewish driving instructor recounted a terrifying ordeal when Obadiah Lashley, 29, bashed him in the head with a metal bat on a Staten Island street and called him a “dirty Jew.”

The instructor, who did not want his name published, believes the sight of his yarmulke set Lashley off, the victim previously told The News.

Months earlier, in November, a trio of bigots beat up three Jewish strangers including a 15-year-old boy in separate attacks during a 40-minute spree of hate crimes in Brooklyn, according to police.

All three victims suffered minor injuries and did not require medical attention.

After Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7, prompting a fierce war in Gaza, antisemitic hate crimes surged across the city, The News previously reported.

Sixty-nine antisemitic crimes were reported in the city that month, compared with 22 in October 2022 — a 214% increase — officials said.

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