Anti-Jewish hate crimes reported in NY last year accounted for almost half of all hate crimes

New York state reported 1,089 hate crimes in 2023, marking the highest number since the state started reporting and collecting hate crime related data in 2000, according to the annual report released Wednesday from the office of the New York State comptroller. 

The number of reported hate crime incidents more than doubled between 2018 and 2023 statewide, the report said, with New York City reporting the majority of hate crimes in 2023 compared to previous years where hate crimes were reported roughly equally across the state. 

"New York State has seen a concerning surge in reported hate crimes over the last five years, with the number of incidents increasing by 12.7 percent in 2023 alone. As the number of hate crimes has grown, these crimes are increasingly targeting people rather than property, with most attacks against Jewish, Black and Gay Male New Yorkers," the report said. 

Religion was the most common bias motivation followed by race, ethnicity, national origin and sexual orientation. 

Jewish victims of antisemitism

"In 2023, nearly 44 percent of all recorded hate crime incidents and 88 percent of religious-based hate crimes targeted Jewish victims, the largest share of all such crimes," according to the report. 

Nearly 17 percent of all recorded hate crime incidents and 52 percent of incidents motivated by race, ethnicity or national origin were anti-Black, the report said, with the vast majority of hate crimes based on an anti-LGBTQ bias were targeting gay male victims.

According to the report, although anti-Jewish hate crimes consistently remain the most frequently reported bias, the share of racially motivated incidents in the state is now greater than five years ago. 

"The persistence and increase in anti-Jewish incidents have prompted targeted interventions by federal, State and local governments, such as increased security measures at religious institutions, enhanced hate crime legislation, and working closely with community leaders to foster unity and provide support to victims," the report said. 

According to the report, the most common offense was aggravated harassment in the 1st degree, a felony offense involving acts such as painting a swastika, placing a noose on someone’s property, or damaging religious premises. 

Of the 145 aggravated harassment incidents in the 1st degree, 131 incidents were committed with an anti-Jewish bias.

"As a diverse hub of cultures, beliefs and identities, New York’s strength has always been in the creation of community bonds that transcend these characteristics and unite us as New Yorkers,"  the report concluded. "The fight against hate demands that we all participate in fostering communication with, understanding of and acceptance of our neighbors."