Mamdani’s First Month as Mayor Marked by Sharp Rise in Antisemitic Hate Crimes Despite Drop in Gun Violence

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – The first month of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration has been marked by a troubling surge in antisemitic hate crimes across New York City, even as overall gun violence fell to historic lows, according to newly released data from the New York City Police Department.

Mamdani, who took office on Jan. 1, entered City Hall with a progressive agenda that has included calls for New York to divest from Israel Bonds and previous remarks suggesting he would seek the arrest of Israel’s prime minister if he entered the city. Against that political backdrop, NYPD statistics show antisemitic hate crimes jumped 182% in January 2026 compared to January 2025.

The NYPD’s hate crimes task force investigated 58 hate crime incidents in January, a 152% increase from the 23 incidents reported during the same month last year. Of those, 31 targeted Jews, nearly triple the 11 incidents recorded in January 2025. Anti-Jewish incidents accounted for more than half of all hate crimes reported citywide, despite Jews comprising roughly 10% of New York’s population.

Scott Richman, New York regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, called the spike “staggering” and said it has left Jewish communities on edge.

“From swastikas at a playground in Borough Park to a car ramming at Chabad headquarters in Crown Heights, the Jewish community in New York City is very much on edge,” Richman said.

Richman urged Mamdani to act swiftly by appointing leadership to the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, a position that remains unfilled more than a month into the new administration.

“In the face of this, we urge Mayor Mamdani to quickly name the next head of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism and to appoint a leader who will both represent this diverse Jewish community and confront all forms of antisemitism,” he said.

NYPD data shows that antisemitic incidents far outpaced other hate crime categories in January. By comparison, the department recorded seven anti-Muslim incidents, five targeting Asians, five related to sexual orientation, three religion-based incidents overall, two targeting blacks, two related to gender, and single incidents involving age, Hispanics and whites.

While hate crimes surged, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch emphasized that violent crime indicators showed significant improvement during Mamdani’s first month in office. The city recorded 40 shooting incidents with 47 victims, the lowest January totals on record. Murders fell to their lowest January level ever, breaking the previous record of 22, with Manhattan and Staten Island reporting zero homicides for the entire month.

“For the first month of the year, the women and men of the NYPD delivered the fewest shooting incidents, victims and murders in recorded history,” Tisch said, crediting what she described as a data-driven policing strategy.

The department also reported a 16% decline in retail theft and said school safety zones reduced overall crime by more than 50%. However, reported rapes rose to 167 in January, exceeding figures from the same month in each of the previous five years.

As Mamdani begins his tenure, the contrast between falling gun violence and the dramatic rise in antisemitic hate crimes has intensified scrutiny of City Hall’s priorities and messaging. For many in New York’s Jewish community, the data underscores growing concern that ideological shifts at the top may be coinciding with a more hostile environment on the streets.

Prophetic Significance

For those watching events through a prophetic lens, the rise of antisemitism carries a deeper biblical resonance. In Jeremiah 16, the Lord declares a season of “fishermen” who would gently draw Israel back to their ancient homeland, followed by the emergence of “hunters” who would pursue them. Many believe the ingathering of Jews to Israel over the past century reflected that season of fishing — a luring marked by opportunity, restoration, and return.

Yet the escalation of hostility toward Jewish communities worldwide now suggests the latter phase may be intensifying. With New York City — home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, numbering nearly one million across the metropolitan area — increasingly experiencing open intimidation and violence, the ancient warning appears to be moving from text to reality. Rather than random acts, these pressures may be converging toward the fulfillment of a passage that foretold both the mercy and the urgency surrounding Israel’s return.

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