'I stand with you': NYPD head Jessica Tisch speaks at NYC synagogue a week after antisemitic attack

New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch stood with members of Central Synagogue on Friday, calling last week's attack at the Midtown house of worship part of a "broader pattern" of bias against Jewish people globally and in New York City. A man has been charged with federal hate crimes in connection with the incident.

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I stand with you.

Tisch spoke during the Shabbat service at the Manhattan synagogue, where a week prior, Larry Montes, 46, allegedly assaulted a 63-year-old woman and hurled racial slurs at a 65-year-old Black security guard before spitting and headbutting him. The commissioner emphasized the disproportionate number of crimes targeting Jews, who constitute 10% of the city's population but are victims in approximately half of all hate crimes in New York City.

"Those numbers are staggering, but sometimes the data can be just that, numbers on a page, abstract, at a distance," she told the congregation. "What happened here last Friday brought that hatred inside the doors of this synagogue." Tisch stated that the NYPD has been monitoring attacks against Jewish victims worldwide since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.

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Those numbers are staggering, but sometimes the data can be just that, numbers on a page, abstract, at a distance. What happened here last Friday brought that hatred inside the doors of this synagogue.

"Since October 7, hate has ricocheted across the globe, and the Jewish community has been targeted again and again," Tisch said. "We have watched rhetoric shift from slogans to direct calls for violence." She warned that violence against Jews abroad could inspire attacks closer to home, noting that "Individuals already on the edge do not always need instructions. Sometimes, all they need is a spark." The commissioner assured the congregation that the NYPD is making every effort to protect Jewish New Yorkers and thwart antisemitic assaults.

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Since October 7, hate has ricocheted across the globe, and the Jewish community has been targeted again and again. We have watched rhetoric shift from slogans to direct calls for violence.

"Across New York City, our precinct commanders and community affairs officers are in contact with synagogues and yeshivas, doing everything we can to ensure their safety," Tisch said. "Our Intelligence and Counterterrorism Bureau acts aggressively against potential threats and directs resources where they are needed." Tisch, identifying herself as a "proud Jew and a lifelong member of this congregation," pledged her support. "And as Police commissioner, you have my word that behind that commitment stand 35,000 members of the NYPD willing to risk their own lives for people they have never met, supported by the most robust municipal counterterrorism capacity in the world and a Hate Crimes Task Force that is second to none."

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Every high-profile attack raises the risk of another. Individuals already on the edge do not always need instructions. Sometimes, all they need is a spark.