Lamenting Present-Day Dangers, Police Boss Jessica Tisch Promises New York Jews a ‘Partner’ in NYPD

As antisemitic hate crimes at New York City remain stubbornly high, the city’s top cop, Jessica Tisch, is promising that her department will remain a steadfast partner to the Jewish community but warns the issue of antisemitism needs to be confronted before it requires an active police response.The police commissioner, who received the Theodor Herzl award Monday night alongside the CEO of Media Group Axel Springer SE, Mathias Döpfner, told an audience at the Museum of Modern Art that antisemitism is “no longer confined to the shadows. It is becoming increasingly open, aggressive and brazen.” The two-dimensional threat — “the hatred people express, and the crimes that they commit” — thus requires a two-pronged approach.“Being Jewish in New York should never require an act of courage,” Ms. Tisch said at the World Jewish Congress awards dinner. “And yet, in recent times, too many Jewish New Yorkers have been forced to think differently about their own safety.”“I promise you this: Jewish institutions will not, not be left to defend themselves without a partner in the New York City Police Department,” said Ms. Tisch, the first Jewish woman to be named the city’s top officer.In the three years preceding the Hamas-orchestrated terror attacks that gave rise to the war in Gaza, New York recorded 648 antisemitic incidents, ranging from criminal mischief to assault. In less than three years between the October 7 attacks and the end of September 2026, that number ballooned to 1,085, according to the New York Police Department’s Hate Crimes Dashboard.Monthly anti-Jewish hate crimes in the city peaked in 2024, when the police department reported 28.8 attacks per month, on average. In 2025, Ms. Tisch’s first full year as commissioner, that number fell only slightly to 27.2, according to data compiled by the Nexus Center for Antisemitism Research. Ms. Tisch has kept a delicate balance maintaining her position after being appointed by Mayor Eric Adams, a former NYPD captain and staunch advocate for New York’s Jewish communities, and transitioning into the administration of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who called for the elimination of the police department and actively supported Boycott, Divest, and Sanction initiatives during his college days through his tenure as a state assemblymember.The mayor has tempered his rhetoric in the 10 months since he took office, but he has not walked away from his anti-Israel positions. When he refused to lead the Israel Day parade, Ms. Tisch stepped in. When he admitted he could not arrest Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, upon his arrival for the U.N. General Assembly in September, he reminded New Yorkers of their right to protest. Ms. Tisch’s force ensured that the demonstrations remained peaceful. The Theodor Herzl Award is eponymously named for the founder of modern Zionism. It recognizes individuals who work toward a safer and more tolerant world for the Jewish people, international support for Israel, and better understanding of Jewish history and culture, according to the organization’s website. The event marked the World Jewish Congress’s 90th anniversary.Accepting her award, Ms. Tisch said that while the First Amendment protects opinions no matter how vile, the hate that has “ricocheted” around the world and “hardened into direct calls for violence” in the wake of the October 7, 2023, attacks will be met by her department even before antipathy veers into illegality.“ Violence can inspire more violence. Every high-profile attack can raise the risk of another because individuals already inclined toward violence do not always need detailed instructions or an elaborate plan. Sometimes, all they need is a spark,” she said. “That is why our response at the NYPD must be relentless when an attack occurs and vigilant long before one does.” Ms. Tisch credited direct, person-to-person relationships between officers and Jewish institutions and community leaders for bringing concerns to the department’s attention, while the NYPD’s Counterterrorism Bureau and Hate Crimes Task Force work to prevent threats from materializing and address them when they do. “ Some of our protection is visible, much of it never will be. But the purpose of all of it — all of it — is the same: Jewish New Yorkers should be able to live fully and openly as Jews in this city without calculating the risks of doing so,” she said.

Lamenting Present-Day Dangers, Police Boss Jessica Tisch Promises New York Jews a ‘Partner’ in NYPD

Lamenting Present-Day Dangers, Police Boss Jessica Tisch Promises New York Jews a ‘Partner’ in NYPD

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