A new survey of Jewish New Yorkers found that more than one-third of Jewish residents believe that New York City is no longer safe for Jews in the aftermath of the Hamas massacre of October and the subsequent global outbreak of antisemitism, the New York Post reported.
The poll, which was conducted by the New York Solidarity Network, found that 35% of Jewish residents believe “New York is no longer a safe haven for Jewish life and the Jewish people.” That number rises to nearly 40% when the same statement is applied to the United States of America as a whole.
On a more personal level, 44% of respondents said that they felt unsafe, a number which rose to 67% when Orthodox Jews, who are more visibly identifiable as Jewish were asked.
Sara Forman, executive director of the New York Solidarity Network, told the Post that the survey's results should serve as a"five-alarm fire" for New York's leaders.
New York, home to the largest Jewish population in the world outside the State of Israel, has seen an increase in antisemitic incidents and hate crimes in the nine months since October 7.
According to statistics compiled by the NYPD, 45 antisemitic hate crimes were committed in the month of June, comprising nearly 60% of all hate crimes in the city during that month. Anti-Jewish hate crimes were up 137% over June 2023.
A Jewish woman and her family are suing the city for $100 million after they were assaulted by a Muslim family during a fifth-grade graduation ceremony at a Brooklyn elementary school.
In June, a group of anti-Israel activists took over a subway car in New York and demanded to know if there were any Zionists on board.
The masked activists yelled, "Raise your hands if you're a Zionist! This is your chance to get out!"
The same week, the homes of Jewish members of the board of the Brooklyn Museum were targeted by vandals who left antisemitic graffiti on the buildings in red paint.