Tens of thousands of people gathered in Lower Manhattan on Sunday to protest against the rise in anti-Semitic crimes being committed in the United States.
Last month, a man barged into the New York home of a Hasidic rabbi and stabbed at least five people, and three people were killed in a shootout inside a kosher supermarket in Jersey City, New Jersey; a police officer was shot and killed by the gunman earlier in the day.
During the march, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said he will propose a new state law designating hate crimes as domestic terrorism. He also announced plans to increase funding for security at religious institutions. "While we're here today in the spirit of solidarity and love, government must do more than just offer thoughts and prayers," he said. "Government must act."
The New York Times reports the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, is set to release a report stating that anti-Semitic hate crimes in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago are expected to hit an 18-year peak. The New York Police Department said the number of hate crimes reported in 2019 rose nearly 20 percent compared to the year before.