Dear John,

When ADL released our latest Audit of Antisemitic Incidents last week, it revealed an average of nearly 10 antisemitic incidents each day — vandalism, harassment and assault — across the United States last year. This was the highest level ADL has ever seen in the decades we have been tracking.

One particularly alarming element of this report is the spike in incidents in New York and New Jersey, home to vibrant and visible Jewish communities that make up roughly a third of the Jewish population of the United States. It’s an incredible place to be Jewish and our ultimate goal is to keep it safe.

ADL is taking two major new steps to address anti-Jewish hate in New York and New Jersey that we want to share with you today.

First, we are helping launch the Jewish Security Alliance of NY/NJ (JSA).

In the aftermath of the surge in antisemitic incidents last year, including a series of violent plots threatening synagogues in New York and New Jersey, we are joining other leading organizations in the area to create a clearinghouse for information sharing, training and resources. The benefits of this collaboration were clear last November, for example, when thanks to cooperation between organizations in the region, NYPD officers had the information they needed to apprehend two men at Penn Station on their way to follow through on social media threats to “shoot up a synagogue.”

Jewish community leaders from New York and New Jersey gather in ADL’s Investigative Research Lab to announce the formation of the Jewish Security Alliance.

This partnership includes ADL, the Community Security Initiative of New York (an Initiative of UJA-NY and JCRC-NY), the Community Security Service’s Northeastern Division and five area Jewish Federations. Antisemitic threats don’t stop at town or state borders, so this collaboration will help all of us to remain vigilant and effective. We hope this model will be replicated across the country. Read more about the JSA here.

Second, we are launching a Brooklyn ADL office.

Brooklyn has the largest Jewish population in the United States with over 600,000 Jews who call the borough home. Unfortunately, it has also become an epicenter of violent attacks targeting Jewish communities.

We look forward to deepening our work in the Jewish community with our allies and partners to counter the rising tide of antisemitism and all forms of hate with the help of this new outpost, which will serve as a satellite of our New York/New Jersey Regional Office. Read more about the Brooklyn office here.

The Jewish communities of New York and New Jersey have shouldered some of the heaviest burdens of the national trend of rising levels of antisemitic incidents. We are resolved to take action with all of the resources and allies we have. Thank you for being part of the ADL community Fighting Hate for Good in New York, New Jersey and across the United States.

Sincerely,

Scott Richman

New York/New Jersey Regional Director

ADL