Mayor Bill de Blasio backed off his previous, head-scratching position that anti-Semitism is “strictly” a right-wing movement while speaking Wednesday about hate crimes ahead of the Jewish high holidays.
When asked at an NYPD press conference if white supremacy factored into the 60% rise in anti-Semitic hate crimes in New York this year compared to last, de Blasio demurred.
“I think we see a difference in New York City than in the country as a whole,” he said, admitting that bias incidents against Jews in the city are largely committed by youth and mentally ill people.
When asked the same question in June, de Blasio rejected any claim that the left plays a role in anti-Jewish discrimination.
“I think the ideological movement that is anti-Semitic is a right-wing movement,” he said then.
The mayor also advocated a tough-on-crime approach to bias attacks.
“I don’t think anyone has a perfect understanding of why people commit acts of violent hate, but we we do know that anyone who thinks they can get away with a crime is more likely to do it they already have that motivation,” he said.
“It’s really important to send a message that they will be arrested, they will be prosecuted, they will pay the price for what they did, and that has to start with even the lowest-level crimes,” he added.