Anti-Semitic surge

Cops also battle general rise in hate crime Congress ups cap on 9/11 health plan

Drawings of swastikas and other anti-Semitic vandalism are driving up the number of hate crimes against the Jewish community, NYPD officials said Wednesday.

At a briefing about security in advance of the Jewish High Holy Days that begin at the end of the month, the head of the department’s hate crimes task force said there were 155 anti-Jewish crimes as of Sept. 15 — compared with 97 during the same time period last year. That’s a 60% jump, according to NYPD statistics.

Of those bias crimes, 130 were against property — 121 of which were scrawled swastikas, said Deputy Inspector Mark Molinari.

In comparison, there were 78 cases against property last year through Sept. 15, 73 of which were anti-Semitic graffiti, Molinari explained.

Police Commissioner James O’Neill called the increase “troubling.” “We’re not going to hide from this,” he said. “It only strengthens our resolve to combat any forms of bias, prejudice and hate.”

There were 301 hate crimes this year as opposed to 217 in 2018, a 39% increase.

There were 24 bias crimes against white people through Sept. 15 — that’s 11 more than in the same time frame last year. Hate-motivated attacks against black people inched up to 30 this year from 27 in 2018.

Hate crime arrests are also up – to 142, or 28%, so far this year compared with 111 in 2018. Arrests in antiSemitic crimes have jumped 37% to 48 vs. 35. Arrests in antiwhite cases have increased to 15 from seven, a spike of 114%.

Mayor de Blasio said that while hate crimes in places outside New York are fueled by white supremacy, here they are committed by the mentally ill, youth with the wrong ideas or people with personal beefs. WASHINGTON — For once, a fix to help 9/11 responders and victims is coming quickly and painlessly from Congress.

Tucked into a proposal to fund the government unveiled Monday is an agreement to expand the number of people who can be admitted to the rapidly filling treatment programs for ailing 9/11 responders and survivors.

The two programs were capped by the original law that created them at 25,000 each. In a letter sent to Congress earlier this month, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar warned that the responders’ program had reached 20,000, or 80% of its capacity.

If it hit 25,000, no new responders who got sick in the future would be admitted.

House negotiators on the funding deal, though, added language to it that would boost the cap for each treatment program to 75,000 people.

“I’m pleased that we reached an agreement ensuring 9/11 responders and survivors will continue to be able to enroll in the 9/11 World Trade Center Health Program with no interruption and for years to come,” said Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Advocates who have grown used to shaming Congress into action hailed the speedy fix.

“Congress got together very quickly on this in a bipartisan fashion, and it shows their commitment to 9/11 responders and survivors,” said Ben Chevat, the director of Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act.

The easy fix comes at least in part because it didn’t require any new money. The treatment programs budget was set by law through 2025.