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Gov. Hochul announces new unit to battle hate crimes at antisemitism summit
(New York Jewish Week) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a new “hate and bias prevention unit” to combat antisemitism and other forms of hate on Monday.
The unit will include public education and outreach efforts, a “rapid response team” to assist communities affected by a bias or hate incident, and regional councils where community members can share concerns, host events and conduct training, among other functions.
Hochul’s announcement came during a 90-minute conference held by the Orthodox Union at Manhattan’s Lincoln Square Synagogue to discuss the rise of antisemitism. The event also featured Sen. Chuck Schumer, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas.
Hochul said that the new prevention unit will be implemented statewide and embedded in the Division of Human Rights. “It’s not just going to be sitting in a bureaucratic office,” Hochul said, adding the new unit will also be used as “an early warning system.”
“We can be in the prevention business, by educating people as to what the signs are,” Hochul said. “I’m going to make sure that this organization is actually an effective instrument for change.”
The new unit will alsomobilize support to “areas and communities in which a bias incident has occurred,” according to a press release from the governor’s office.
The new regional councils will be organized by the Division of Human Rights.
NEW: Governor Kathy Hochul announces a new hate and bias prevention unit to ‘educate and be an early warning system’ in fighting antisemitism across the state. pic.twitter.com/wIdtt2RFT2
— Jacob Henry (@jhenrynews) December 12, 2022
Hochul’s announcement follows her signing of a bill in late November that requires mandatory hate crime prevention training for individuals convicted of hate crimes.
The state also made $50 million available to strengthen security measures at organizations at risk of hate crimes, as well as $46 million in federal funding for 240 such organizations across the state.
The New York Police Department reported that antisemitic attacks in the city in November 2022 last month were up by 125% when compared to the same month last year.
Also, a report from the Anti-Defamation Leage counted 2,717 antisemitic incidents across the country in 2021 — a 34% increase from the previous year, and the highest since it began tracking in 1979.
During the Monday morning conference, Adams reiterated what he said last week about building up a pipeline of new relationships between the Black and Jewish community to combat hate. He also said that “there should be a no plea bargaining rule” when it comes to hate crimes.
“I don’t believe we have one person who has been arrested for a hate crime that served time in jail,” Adams said. “That is unacceptable. That sends the wrong message.” (An analysis earlier this year by The City news site found that between 2015 and 2020, only 87 cases, or 15% of hate crime arrests, resulted in a hate crime conviction.)
Sen. Schumer warned about the “dramatic resurgence of antisemitism” and called out former President Donald Trump for having dinner last month with Kanye West, the rapper who has shared a torrent of antisemitism in recent weeks, and white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.
“Rather than apologize afterwards, [Trump] lectures American Jewish leaders for insufficient loyalty,” Schumer said, referring to remarks Trump made Friday on his social media platform, Truth Social. “It is incumbent on all of us to speak out.”
Schumer said added that antisemitism is “seeping into our society” from not only the far right, but also the far left. “I must say that some, certainly not all, of the anti-Israel sentiment among some here in this country seeps right over into antisemitism,” he said.
The Orthodox Union’s managing director, Maury Litwack, who introduced the mayor and governor at the event, told the New York Jewish Week that the conference wasn’t just about denouncing antisemitism but included “concrete actions.”
“This is about tachlis,” Litwack said, using the Yiddish expression meaning “brass tacks.” “It’s not enough to simply say ‘denounce this.’ Each elected official has a responsibility. Like so many other communities, it’s our job to step and have that conversation.”
Major players from leading New York Jewish organizations attended the event, including Agudath Israel of America, UJA-Federation of New York, the Community Security Initiative, the Hasidic Bobov sect and even former “Real Housewives of New York” cast member Lizzy Savetsky. There was a notable Orthodox presence.
Rabbi Moishe Indig, a Satmar community activist who has a close relationship with both the governor and mayor, told the New York Jewish Week that the event was important to bring awareness to the issue of rising antisemitism.
“If you don’t speak up, if you don’t do anything about it, if you don’t bring awareness, then you barely know what it is,” Indig said. “We are calling it out and trying to do prevention.”
Tzvi Waldman, a Rockland County activist and one of the few Jewish representatives at the meeting from outside the five boroughs, told the New York Jewish Week that it was important to show elected officials that there is an interest in these issues.
“If we’re willing to work with them, they’ll work with us,” said Waldman, who is also suing the governor for not allowing guns in synagogues and other houses of worship.
Avi Greenstein, the CEO of the Boro Park Jewish Community Council, told the New York Jewish Week that it’s important to “hold our elected officials accountable.”
“Having the opportunity to hear from our elected leadership about their resolve to stand up for us, it brings out a cautious hope,” Greenstein said.
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Yemen’s Separatists Appear to Split, Reflecting Saudi-UAE Rift
Supporters of the UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) hold a poster of Aidarous al-Zubaidi, the STC’s leader, who, according to the Saudi-backed coalition, fled to an unknown destination, in Aden, Yemen, Dec. 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Fawaz Salman
Yemen’s main separatist group appeared split on Friday as some members announced it was disbanding, reflecting a feud between Gulf powers Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that was blown into the open by a separatist advance last month.
Saudi-backed fighters have largely retaken areas in southern and eastern Yemen seized by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) in December, and an STC delegation has traveled to the Saudi capital Riyadh for talks.
However, STC leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi fled Yemen on Wednesday instead of joining the talks, with the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen saying the UAE had helped spirit him away on a flight that was tracked to a military airport in Abu Dhabi.
One of the members who traveled to Riyadh for the talks said in a statement broadcast on Saudi state media on Friday that the group had decided to disband.
But the STC says it has had no communication with the delegation that initiated the talks under Saudi sponsorship.
A spokesperson who did not travel to Riyadh and is close to Zubaidi said any decision on the group’s fate can only be taken by the entire council, including its leader.
Any such decision would only be taken once the delegation in Riyadh “is released,” he said.
Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman welcomed the decision as a “brave” one. A conference would be held in Saudi Arabia to discuss southern Yemeni issues with all groups invited, he said.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE had previously worked together in a coalition battling the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen’s civil war, a conflict which caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
But the two most powerful countries in the Gulf have had sharp differences over issues ranging from geopolitics to oil output. Their rivalry was exposed when the STC advanced to within reach of Yemen’s border with Saudi Arabia, which Riyadh declared a threat to its national security.
The STC on Friday called for mass protests in the southern cities of Aden and Mukalla, urging supporters to rally on Saturday in a show of “loyalty and steadfastness” amid the political crisis.
Authorities in Aden aligned with Yemen’s Saudi-backed government later ordered a ban on demonstrations in the southern city, citing security concerns, according to an official directive seen by Reuters.
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Gal Gadot to Produce, Potentially Star in Paramount Film Adaption of ‘Recovery Agent’ Book Series
Gal Gadot at the 82nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. Photo: Dan MacMedan-USA TODAY via Reuters Connect
Paramount Pictures has acquired the rights to the bestselling Recovery Agent book series by Janet Evanovich, and Israeli actress Gal Gadot will produce and potentially star in the feature film, Deadline reported.
The former “Wonder Woman” star and her husband and business partner Jaron Varsano will produce under their television and film production company Pilot Wave, with a screenplay written by Ellen Shanman (“Voltron”). Paramount will also develop and produce the film with Carol Mendelsohn and Julie Weitz from Carol Mendelsohn Productions, according to Deadline.
The Recovery Agent was published in 2022 and its sequel “The King’s Random” was published in November 2025, each by Atria Books. Both books have been New York Times bestsellers. The protagonist in Evanovich’s book series is Gabriela Rose, an international recovery agent who specializes in retrieving stolen or lost high-value items, often in dangerous missions. Her partner is her ex-husband Rafer Burke, and together they travel the world looking for valuable treasures.
Gadot’s most recent credits include Julian Schnabel’s “In the Hand of Dante,” which premiered at the 2025 Venice Film Festival, Kevin Macdonald’s action thriller “The Runner” for Amazon International, and the live-action remake of the Disney classic “Snow White.” Her past credits include the “Wonder Woman” films, the “Fast & Furious” franchise, “Heart of Stone,” and “Red Notice,” which is Netflix’s second most-popular film of all time.
Evanovich has written 46 New York Times bestsellers over the last 28 years and has sold over 200 million books worldwide, according to Deadline. She is also the author of the Stephanie Plum 31-book series and its most recent installment, Now or Never, debuted on top of the New York Times bestseller list.
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Iran Shuts Off Internet as Anti-Regime Protests Intensify Across Country
Protesters gather as vehicles burn, amid evolving anti-government unrest, in Tehran, Iran, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video released on Jan. 9, 2026. Photo: Social Media/via REUTERS
Iran was largely cut off from the outside world on Friday after authorities blacked out the internet to curb growing unrest, as video showed buildings aflame in anti-government protests raging in cities across the country.
Rights groups have already documented dozens of deaths of protesters in nearly two weeks and, with Iranian state TV showing clashes and fires, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that several police officers had been killed overnight.
In a televised address, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed not to back down, accusing demonstrators of acting on behalf of émigré opposition groups and the United States, and a public prosecutor threatened death sentences.
DOZENS KILLED IN TWO WEEKS OF PROTEST
The protests pose the biggest internal challenge in at least three years to Iran‘s clerical rulers, who look more vulnerable than during past bouts of unrest amid a dire economic situation and after last year’s war with Israel and the United States.
While the initial protests were focused on the economy, with the rial currency losing half its value against the dollar last year and inflation topping 40% in December, they have morphed to include slogans aimed directly at the authorities.
Iranian rights group HRANA said on Friday it had documented the deaths of at least 62 people including 14 security personnel and 48 protesters since demonstrations began on Dec. 28.
The internet blackout has sharply reduced the amount of information flowing out of the country. Phone calls into Iran were not getting through. At least 17 flights between Dubai and Iran were canceled, Dubai Airport’s website showed.
Images published by state television overnight showed what it said were burning buses, cars, and motorbikes as well as fires at underground railway stations and banks.
Videos verified by Reuters as having been taken in the capital Tehran showed hundreds of people marching. In one of the videos, a woman could be heard shouting “Death to Khamenei!”
Other chants included slogans in support of the monarchy.
Iranian rights group Hengaw reported that a protest march after Friday prayers in Zahedan, where the Baluch minority predominates, was met with gunfire that wounded several people.
Authorities have tried a dual approach – describing protests over the economy as legitimate while condemning what they call violent rioters and cracking down with security forces.
Last week President Masoud Pezeshkian urged authorities to take a “kind and responsible approach,” and the government offered modest financial incentives to help counter worsening impoverishment as inflation has soared.
But with unrest spreading and clashes appearing more violent, the Supreme Leader, the ultimate authority in Iran, above the elected president and parliament, used much tougher language on Friday.
“The Islamic Republic came to power through the blood of hundreds of thousands of honorable people. It will not back down in the face of vandals,” he said, accusing those involved in unrest of seeking to please US President Donald Trump.
Tehran’s public prosecutor said those committing sabotage, burning public property, or engaging in clashes with security forces would face the death penalty.
FRAGMENTED OPPOSITION
Iran‘s fragmented external opposition factions called for more protests, and demonstrators have chanted slogans including “Death to the dictator!” and praising the monarchy that was overthrown in 1979.
Reza Pahlavi, exiled son of the late shah, told Iranians in a social media post: “The eyes of the world are upon you. Take to the streets.”
However, the extent of support inside Iran for the monarchy or for the MKO, the most vocal of émigré opposition groups, is disputed. A spokesperson for the MKO said units with the group had taken part in the protests.
“The sense of hopelessness in Iranian society is something today that we haven’t seen before. I mean, that sense of anger has just deepened over the years and we are at record new levels in terms of how Iranian society is upset,” said Alex Vatanka of the Middle East Institute in Washington.
Trump, who bombed Iran last summer and warned Tehran last week that the US could come to the protesters’ aid, said on Friday he would not meet Pahlavi and was “not sure that it would be appropriate” to support him.
Despite the increased pressure, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday the chance of foreign military intervention in Iran was “very low.” He said the foreign minister of Oman, which has often interceded in negotiations between Iran and the West, would visit on Saturday.
UN rights chief Volker Turk said he was “deeply disturbed by reports of violence” and by communications shutdowns.
The Islamic Republic has weathered repeated bouts of major nationwide unrest across the decades, including student protests in 1999, mass demonstrations over a disputed election outcome in 2009, demonstrations over economic hardships in 2019, and the Woman, Life, Freedom protests in 2022.
The 2022 protests, sparked by the killing of a young woman in the custody of Iran‘s Islamic morality police, drew a large variety of people onto the streets, with men and women, old and young, rich and poor.
They were ultimately suppressed, with hundreds of people reported killed and thousands imprisoned, but authorities also subsequently ceded some ground with women now routinely disobeying public dress codes.