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NYPD reports 69 antisemitic hate crimes in October, marking a surge since start of war
(New York Jewish Week) — The NYPD reported 69 antisemitic hate crimes in October, marking a major increase in anti-Jewish incidents in the city following Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion of Israel and Israel’s ensuing war against the terror group.
The number of antisemitic crimes in October marked a 214% increase over the same month last year, according to police data released on Wednesday.
The total for October was far higher than in any other month this year. The previous high-water mark was in March, which saw 32 antisemitic incidents reported to police, fewer than half of last month’s number.
October’s tally of anti-Jewish crimes was the highest single month total since October 2021, when hate crimes against all groups spiked, and in which anti-Jewish crimes made up a smaller proportion of the total.
There were 101 total hate crimes reported to police last month, including eight anti-Muslim incidents. Hate crimes overall have been trending downward this year, police said.
In some of the anti-Jewish incidents last month, three Jewish men were shot with a BB gun in Brooklyn, an Israeli student was struck with a stick at Columbia University, and a man punched a woman in a Manhattan subway station, saying it was because she was Jewish. Other incidents included racist and threatening graffiti.
Some incidents related directly to the war, such as Jewish groups receiving threats related to Israel’s conduct, according to the Community Security Initiative, which coordinates security for Jewish institutions in the New York City area.
Since the start of the year, there have been 232 antisemitic hate crimes in New York City, or an incident every 31 hours, according to the NYPD data. The figure is similar to the total at the same point last year, when the overall rate of hate crimes was higher. Jewish security groups say many incidents likely go unreported.
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The post NYPD reports 69 antisemitic hate crimes in October, marking a surge since start of war appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Kurdish-led SDF Say Five Members Killed During Attack by Islamic State in Syria
Islamic State slogans painted along the walls of the tunnel was used by Islamic State militants as an underground training camp in the hillside overlooking Mosul, Iraq, March 4, 2017. Photo: via Reuters Connect.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said on Sunday that five of its members had been killed during an attack by Islamic State militants on a checkpoint in eastern Syria’s Deir el-Zor on July 31.
The SDF was the main fighting force allied to the United States in Syria during fighting that defeated Islamic State in 2019 after the group declared a caliphate across swathes of Syria and Iraq.
The Islamic State has been trying to stage a comeback in the Middle East, the West and Asia. Deir el-Zor city was captured by Islamic State in 2014, but the Syrian army retook it in 2017.
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Armed Groups Attack Security Force Personnel in Syria’s Sweida, Killing One, State TV Reports
People ride a motorcycle past a burned-out military vehicle, following deadly clashes between Druze fighters, Sunni Bedouin tribes, and government forces, in Syria’s predominantly Druze city of Sweida, Syria, July 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Armed groups attacked personnel from Syria’s internal security forces in Sweida, killing one member and wounding others, and fired shells at several villages in the violence-hit southern province, state-run Ekhbariya TV reported on Sunday.
The report cited a security source as saying the armed groups had violated the ceasefire agreed in the predominantly Druze region, where factional bloodshed killed hundreds of people last month.
Violence in Sweida erupted on July 13 between tribal fighters and Druze factions. Government forces were sent to quell the fighting, but the bloodshed worsened, and Israel carried out strikes on Syrian troops in the name of the Druze.
The Druze are a minority offshoot of Islam with followers in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Sweida province is predominantly Druze but is also home to Sunni tribes, and the communities have had long-standing tensions over land and other resources.
A US-brokered truce ended the fighting, which had raged in Sweida city and surrounding towns for nearly a week. Syria said it would investigate the clashes, setting up a committee to investigate the attacks.
The Sweida bloodshed last month was a major test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, after a wave of sectarian violence in March that killed hundreds of Alawite citizens in the coastal region.
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Netanyahu Urges Red Cross to Aid Gaza Hostages
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, in Jerusalem, May 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he spoke with the International Red Cross’s regional head, Julien Lerisson, and requested his involvement in providing food and medical care to hostages held in Gaza.