Yeger, Malliotakis condemn anti-Semitic violence
BY HARRY PARKER
On the steps of the Yeshivah
of Flatbush Joel Braverman
High School, a pair of
Brooklyn pols gathered on
June 3 to condemn rising anti-
Semitic violence in New York
City.
Republican Rep. Nicole
Malliotakis and Democratic
Councilmember Kalman Yeger
crossed party lines to address
mounting safety concerns in
the Jewish community.
Yeger, who represents Bensonhurst,
Borough Park, and
Midwood, called on other
elected offi cials to work to denounce
anti-Semitism.
“Condemn the hatred that’s
been targeted towards Jews,”
said the pol, who is Jewish.
“Anti-Semitism has been going
on for the last 5,000 years,
we’re used to it.”
Hate crimes are up 77.2 percent
this year, according to the
most recent NYPD crime statistics,
with 202 reported through
May 23, compared to 114 during
the same time period last year.
This comes after a reported
26 percent rise from 2018 to
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2019, according to the Anti-
Defamation League (ADL), an
organization dedicated to preventing
defamation of Jewish
people.
“We are here today to vociferously,
unequivocally condemn
these acts against our
friends, against our neighbors,
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and to say that we will not tolerate
this in New York City.” Malliotakis
said. “We will continue
to condemn and will come together
to fi ght these terrible
crimes that are happening in
our city.”
Malliotakis gave recent examples
of hate crimes against
Jews in the city, including incidents
at a Staten Island synagogue,
an assault in the diamond
district in Manhattan,
and the painting of anti-Semitic
symbols at a Queens veterans
memorial.
“None of this is acceptable,”
she said. “We must always err
on the side of law and order.”
Malliotakis blamed much
of the violence on initiatives
aimed at defunding the police
and bail reforms that she says
have attracted crime across
the city. “People are committing
these crimes and they’re
getting away with it,” she said.
“And it shows.”
The city’s lone Republican
member of Congress went on
to blame Mayor Bill de Blasio
for his failure to stem violent
crime, and said his ThriveNYC
program to combat mental
health has failed despite rising
spending.
Malliotakis ended the press
conference by saying many of
her colleagues in Congress are
spewing rhetoric that is not
helpful to the discussion of intolerance
towards Jews. When
pressed by another news outlet
on why she hasn’t denounced
members of her own party for
their rhetoric, the pol said she
was not being prohibitive about
which party is responsible.
Neither Yeger nor Malliotakis
offered legislative solutions
to the issue at the conference.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis. Susan Walsh/Pool via REUTERS
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