NEW YORK -- Following Mayor Eric Adams’ recent comments boasting about the NYPD's violent treatment of pro-Palestine protestors, Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ), New York’s largest grassroots Jewish organization, released the following statement:
This week, Mayor Adams bragged about the NYPD's brutal crackdowns on Palestinian solidarity protests to a room full of Jewish New Yorkers. The mayor made it clear he thinks he can best appeal to Jewish voters by violently suppressing protests, and that the job of the NYPD is to carry out this abuse. He is wrong.
Adams' boasting comes the same week that the NYPD arrested picketing Amazon workers pushing the corporation to bargain in good faith with drivers and warehouse employees. Whether it's striking workers or everyday New Yorkers speaking out against war crimes, Mayor Adams has shown New Yorkers that despite what he claims, all he can offer us is more violence and intimidation.
Adams' divisive attempt to use Jewish New Yorkers’ real fears of antisemitism as a cover for his authoritarian abuses is shameful. Beating up college students and arresting union members does not keep Jewish New Yorkers safe. Encouraging NYPD violence is not proof of taking antisemitism seriously; on the contrary, we know Jewish safety is best achieved when we are free to live in a pluralistic democracy where everyone's rights and freedoms are respected, no exceptions. We deserve a mayor who promotes safety and democracy by combating violence, hate, and xenophobia with proven strategies like anti-poverty programs, violence interrupters, and a robust social safety net.
JFREJ has been a vocal critic of Eric Adams and NYPD violence, and a leading voice on hate violence prevention. In 2019, JFREJ convened NYC Against Hate, a grassroots coalition made up of nine New York City community-based organizations, working citywide across diverse identities, advocating for increased city council funding for non-carceral hate violence prevention efforts.
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Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ) is a 6,000-member grassroots organization and the home of New York’s Jewish Left. For over 30 years, JFREJ members have organized alongside our neighbors to transform New York from a playground for the wealthy few into a real democracy, free from all forms of racist violence.