NYC's antisemitic hate crime reports roughly the same amount as this time last year, NYPD says

Antisemitic hate crime reports so far this year in New York City have remained roughly steady, even declining slightly, compared to the same period last year, according to NYPD statistics released Thursday.

There were 14 reported incidents through Jan. 18, compared to 15 during the same period in 2025, an email from the NYPD's press office said.

Nothing has changed about how the NYPD defines or classifies hate crimes, including antisemitic ones, according to Sam Raskin, a spokesman for Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

One of the executive orders Mamdani issued earlier this month — which revoked a hotly debated definition of antisemitism adopted in June by his predecessor Eric Adams that covers certain criticisms of Israel — did not change how the NYPD categorizes hate crimes, Raskin said.

Neither mayor’s definition impacted the penal law definition of what constituted a hate crime.

The Anti-Defamation League, which regards anti-Zionism to be antisemitism, said last year there has been a record-high number of antisemitic incidents in the United States, with most relating to Israel, such as speeches, signage and chants protesting Israeli policies, according to The Associated Press.

Anger at Israel is the driving force behind antisemitism in the United States, AP reported, citing the ADL.

The NYPD defines a hate crime or bias incident as "any offense or unlawful act that is motivated in whole or substantial part by a person's, a group's or a place's identification with a particular race, color, religion, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, ancestry, national origin, or sexual orientation."

Reports of antisemitic incidents make up about 57% of total hate crimes, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, whom Mamdani retained from the Adams administration, said earlier this month.

On Thursday, two 15-year-old boys were arrested for allegedly scrawling 73 swastikas discovered earlier in the week on playground and handball court areas of Gravesend Park in Brooklyn.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.