Barr pursues efforts to curb anti-Semitism
NEW YORK — Attorney General William Barr ordered federal prosecutors across the U.S. to step up their efforts to combat anti-Semitic hate crimes as he met with Jewish leaders in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Tuesday.
Barr said he has been “extremely distressed by the upsurge in violence” in Jewish communities, including in New York City, which experienced a string of anti-Semitic attacks during the Hanukkah holiday.
The attorney general said the Trump administration will have “zero tolerance for this kind of violence.”
Barr’s visit came a day after the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Poland, where survivors warned of rising anti-Semitism worldwide. And it came on the same day that President Donald Trump unveiled a Middle East peace plan that calls for the creation of a State of Palestine with its capital in East Jerusalem while recognizing Israeli sovereignty over major settlement blocs in the West Bank — something the Palestinians are unlikely to accept.
Barr directed U.S. attorneys to ensure they have a specific point of contact to handle outreach to the Jewish community and someone responsible for reporting hate crimes. He said he was also working with FBI Director Christopher Wray to create a national plan to combat anti-Semitic violence, and he announced federal charges in Brooklyn against a woman who is accused of slapping three Jewish women.
Allen Fagin, executive vice president at the Orthodox Union, said Barr was received a resoundingly grateful response from the Jewish community representatives who attended.
“Not only a recognition of the problem and a resolve to bring the resources of the federal government to bear, but the very fact that he came to Brooklyn to do that and brought with him senior representatives of local law enforcement, I think conveyed a very powerful message,” Fagin said.
“I cannot tell you how much it means to us when you say our federal government will have zero tolerance toward hate,” Rabbi David Niederman, who said three of his relatives were killed by Nazis during the Holocaust, told the attorney general.
Jewish communities in the New York City metro area have been on edge after a shooting rampage at a northern New Jersey market in December killed six people and after a stabbing attack at a Hanukkah celebration in Monsey left five people wounded.
In making clear the federal government will step in when necessary, Barr announced charges against 30-year-old Tiffany Harris, who made headlines in New York City after she was accused of slapping three people during Hanukkah. A federal criminal complaint says Harris slapped the women and shouted expletives as she noted they were Jewish.
Her case drew more attention after she was released without bail and then was arrested again a day later in another assault. In the second case, police say she slugged a woman in the face. She was later arrested again for missing an appointment with social workers and was held for a psychiatric evaluation. Harris’ attorney did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment.