Letitia James Issues Warning After 'Horrific' Incident

New York Attorney General Letitia James has issued a warning over a "horrific" incident, following the arrest of a man in East Flatbush, Brookyln, over an antisemitic hate crime.

Asghar Ali, 58, was caught on camera apparently trying to run over Jewish students with his car as they were walking on the sidewalk outside a yeshiva, a Jewish school, on Wednesday morning.

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) allege that Ali yelled antisemitic insults from his car before he was arrested at the scene. He was later charged with attempted murder as a hate crime.

Responding to an article from local news outlet Pix11 about the incident, James wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday: "This is horrific."

"In New York, no one should ever fear for their lives because of who they are. We must make sure that Jews and every New Yorker feels safe here," she continued. "Anyone who commits an act of hate and antisemitism must be held fully accountable."

Newsweek reached out to James' office via email for comment.

James' warning echoed the remarks of New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who wrote on X, Wednesday: "Hate crimes have no place in New York and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."

From January to the end of March of this year, there have been 136 confirmed incidents and 47 arrests relating to hate crimes, according to the NYPD Hate Crimes Dashboard. Of these incidents, 81, well over half, were antisemitic. Of the total, 11 incidents were against Black people, 11 against gay males and 6 against Muslims.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, said at an event celebrating Jewish heritage on Wednesday that pro-Palestinian protests in the city about the Israel-Hamas war are signs of growing radicalization among younger generations, tying the protests to a 2023 Gallup poll that found a low percent of young Americans are proud about their national identity.

"When you add that lack of percentage with the fact that, right on our college campuses, we're radicalizing our children not only to hate Jewish people but to hate the country that they're educated in the first place," Adams said. "Something is wrong with that."

According to a Gallup poll conducted from June 1 to 22, 2023, only 18 percent of U.S. adults aged 18 to 34 years old, said they are extremely proud to be American. A total of 1,013 U.S. adults were surveyed and the poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Pro-Palestinian protests have erupted across the country, especially on college campuses, as the Israel-Hamas war rages on. During Hamas' surprise attack on Israel in on October 7, 2023, about 1,200 people were killed and some 250 were taken hostage. Israeli officials say that around 100 hostages remain in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more.

At least 36,096 Palestinians have been killed so far in Israel's retaliatory military operation in Gaza, according to local health officials. Israeli officials say it has killed 15,000 militants. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the war will not end until Hamas is eliminated.