On Saturday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continued its pushback against the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-why-no-one-pointing-out-sanctuary-cities-josh-hammer">lawless</a> scourge of sanctuary cities — this time focusing upon the particularly recalcitrant government of Mayor Bill de Blasio&#8217;s New York City.
ICE &#8220;served four immigration subpoenas Friday on the New York Department of Corrections (NYDOC) requesting information on multiple illegal aliens who were criminally arrested in New York City, and yet under New York’s non-cooperation policies officials have refused to honor ICE detainers or even provide ICE with information about the release dates of criminal alien public safety threats,&#8221; the agency stated via <a href="https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-issues-subpoenas-obtain-information-refused-under-ny-sanctuary-policies">press release</a>. &#8220;Issuance of these immigration subpoenas was necessary because the NYDOC has continued to ignore ICE’s requests for information and cooperation.&#8221;
&#8220;ICE uses statutorily-authorized immigration subpoenas to obtain information as part of investigations regarding potential removable aliens,&#8221; the release continued. &#8220;ICE has not historically needed to use its lawful authority to issue these subpoenas to obtain information from other law enforcement agencies as most law enforcement agencies throughout the country willingly provide ICE with information regarding aliens arrested for crimes in the interest of public safety.&#8221;
&#8220;ICE is using every tool available to obtain information regarding the whereabouts and other relevant information regarding removable aliens from jurisdictions that chose to, or are unable to, cooperate with ICE,&#8221; the agency wrote, before providing details about the four criminal aliens — ranging from age 21 to 38 — about whom it recently sought information from NYDOC.
&#8220;Like any law enforcement agency, we are used to modifying our tactics as criminals shift their strategies; but it’s disheartening that we must change our practices and jump through so many hoops with partners who are restricted by sanctuary laws passed by politicians with a dangerous agenda,&#8221; lamented Henry Lucero, acting deputy executive associate director for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, as quoted in the ICE press release.
Just yesterday, The Daily Wire&#8217;s Hank Berrien <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ice-releases-list-of-9-violent-illegal-immigrants-freed-by-ny-sanctuary-policy-plus-6-more-who-could-be-released">reported</a> that ICE has also released a list of nine illegal aliens whom ICE claims have been &#8220;released in New York communities&#8221; due to the metropolis&#8217;s sanctuary policies. &#8220;ICE also named six additional illegal immigrants who may be released, some of whom have been charged with murder and child rape,&#8221; Berrien noted.
As <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ice-illegal-immigrants-freed-by-new-york-citys-sanctuary-city">reported</a> by Fox News, acting ICE Director Matthew Albence &#8220;cited statistics saying that last year ICE lodged 7,526 detainers via its New York field office. Those individuals accounted for 17,873 criminal convictions and 6,500 criminal charges. He went on to say that those charges and convictions include over 200 homicides, over 500 robberies, over 1,000 sexual offenses, over 1,000 weapons offenses, and over 3,500 assaults. However, only about 10 detainers were honored by the city, officials said.&#8221;
In a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-why-no-one-pointing-out-sanctuary-cities-josh-hammer">Daily Wire op-ed</a> last July, I argued that most sanctuary jurisdictions flagrantly violate federal law — and in particular, <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1373">8 U.S.C. § 1373(a)</a>, which provides: &#8220;Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal, State, or local law, a Federal, State, or local government entity or official may not prohibit, or in any way restrict, any government entity or official from sending to, or receiving from, the [Department of Homeland Security] information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual.&#8221; I opined:
<blockquote>It is true that the U.S. Supreme Court’s so-called “<a href="https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/on-this-day-the-supreme-court-reinforces-the-10th-amendment">anti-commandeering doctrine</a>,” most famously articulated in the 1992 case of <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1991/91-543">New York v. United States</a> and the 1997 case of <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1996/95-1478">Printz v. United States</a>, stands for the proposition that the federal government cannot forcibly “commandeer” state governments to help the federal government enforce federal law. As Justice Scalia <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/95-1478.ZO.html">wrote in Printz</a>, “The Federal Government may neither issue directives requiring the States to address particular problems, nor command the States’ officers, or those of their political subdivisions, to administer or enforce a federal regulatory program.”
But a plain reading of 8 U.S.C. § 1373(a) does not seem to countenance a violation of the anti-commandeering doctrine. Under § 1373(a), state and local officials are not coerced into “enforc[ing] a federal regulatory program.” Rather, under the text of the statute, all state and local officials are prohibited from doing is issuing a “restrict[ion] [upon the] sending to, or receiving from, the [Department of Homeland Security] information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual.” Put simply, the issue at hand in § 1373(a) is not federal commandeering of state actors to enforce a federal program; rather, the issue is the prevention of state and local officials from openly defying and subverting federal law. And the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause plainly forbids the states from openly defying and subverting federal law. The Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, as applied to § 1373(a), therefore prohibits state and local governments from shielding a removable illegal alien from ICE when ICE issues a detainer request on the alien.</blockquote>

Immigration and Customs Enforcement logo

ICE Hits Back, Issues Subpoenas Against Criminal Aliens In Sanctuary New York City

Bill de Blasio

Crime

Illegal Immigration

Immigrants

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

New York City

New York Police Department (NYPD)

Sanctuary Cities

As the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary field continues to narrow, President Trump delivered a message over Twitter to presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg about his own success as president.
“Mini Mike Bloomberg ads are purposely wrong — A vanity project for him to get into the game,” wrote the president on Friday morning. “Nobody in many years has done for the USA what I have done for the USA, including the greatest economy in history, rebuilding our military, biggest ever tax &amp; regulation cuts, &amp; 2nd A!”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Mini Mike Bloomberg ads are purposely wrong &#8211; A vanity project for him to get into the game. Nobody in many years has done for the USA what I have done for the USA, including the greatest economy in history, rebuilding our military, biggest ever tax &amp; regulation cuts, &amp; 2nd A!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1218174158280019968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2020</a></blockquote>
Trump also drew attention to Bloomberg for his peculiar strategy of avoiding the debate stage fray altogether — a result of the former mayor’s unwillingness to partake in the small-donor portion of the Democratic primary’s official debate requirements. 
“Mini Mike Bloomberg doesn’t get on the Democrat Debate Stage because he doesn’t want to,” tweeted Trump. “He is a terrible debater and speaker. If he did, he would go down in the polls even more (if that is possible!).”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Mini Mike Bloomberg doesn’t get on the Democrat Debate Stage because he doesn’t want to &#8211; he is a terrible debater and speaker. If he did, he would go down in the polls even more (if that is possible!).
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1218165916451602432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2020</a></blockquote>
Bloomberg, who drew mixed reactions from candidates when he decided to enter the primary race in late November, has continued to accrue momentum, accelerating past many veteran campaigners and into a comfortable fifth place position behind Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, according to the latest <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/2020_democratic_presidential_nomination-6730.html">RealClearPolitics</a> polling average. 
According to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/11/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-spending.html">The New York Times</a>, Bloomberg has shown no signs of slowing down any time soon. Last week, the former mayor told the news agency that he was open to spending $1 billion on the 2020 presidential election. 
Bloomberg has also promised to leverage resources toward the eventual Democratic nominee in order to defeat Trump, reports the newspaper. 
Last November, when the former mayor was still only considering a presidential run, Trump told reporters at the White House that there was “nobody I’d rather run against’ than Little Michael,” according to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/08/trump-bloomberg-2020-067811">Politico</a>. 
“He is not going to do well. But I think he’s gonna hurt Biden actually,” Trump told reporters, according to the news agency. “He doesn&#8217;t have the magic to do well,” although he will “spend a lot of money. He has got some really big issues,” continued Trump. 
The Trump-Bloomberg feud will reach its largest audience yet during the Super Bowl on February 2 — the day before the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses — as both candidates have dropped $10 million on commercials, according to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/07/us/politics/bloomberg-trump-super-bowl-ad.html">Times.</a> 
“President Trump made the unprecedented decision to keep the campaign open following his first election, which allows us to do things like buying a Super Bowl ad,” said Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh, reports the news outlet. “We got in early, which gave us prime ad position early in the game.”
Michael Frazier, a spokesman for the Bloomberg campaign, told the Times that the “biggest point” of the ad, and the campaign’s ad strategy in general, is to get “under Trump’s skin.” Frazier also mentioned that another part of the Bloomberg campaign’s strategy is to focus “on states where the general election will be decided, parts of the country that are often overlooked.”

President Trump Welcomes College Football Champions LSU Tigers To The White House

Trump Has A Message For ‘Mini Mike Bloomberg’ And His ‘Vanity Project’

2020 Election

Donald Trump

Michael Bloomberg

On Tuesday, a federal official blamed New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio for the murder of a 92-year-old Queens woman by an illegal immigrant, citing New York City’s “sanctuary policies” triggered the immigrant’s release after he had already been arrested on assault and weapon charges.
Thomas Decker, New York field-office director of enforcement and removal operations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, <a href="https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-lodges-detainer-against-guyanese-national-arrested-murder-92-year-old-new-york">stated</a>:
<blockquote>It is made clear that New York City’s stance against honoring detainers is dangerously flawed. It was a deadly choice to release a man on an active ICE detainer back onto the streets after his first arrest included assault and weapon charges, and he now faces new charges, including murder. New York City’s sanctuary policies continue to threaten the safety of all residents of the five boroughs, as they repeatedly protect criminal aliens who show little regard for the laws of this nation.
In New York City alone, hundreds of arrestees are released each month with pending charges and/or convictions to return back into the communities where they committed their crimes, instead of being transferred into the custody of ICE. Clearly the politicians care more about criminal illegal aliens than the citizens they are elected to serve and protect.</blockquote>
On November 27, Reeaz Khan, 21, an illegal immigrant from Guyana, was arrested for allegedly slashing his father with a broken ceramic mug, prompting ICE to initiate a detainer request; Khan was charged with misdemeanor assault, criminal possession of a weapon and harassment, and released without bail after being slapped with a temporary order of protection for his dad, as <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/01/14/feds-blame-de-blasio-for-murder-sex-assault-of-92-year-old-woman/">The New York Post</a> reported.
On January 10, Khan was arrested for the sexual abuse and murder of Maria Fuertes, 92; Fuertes was found near death on a Richmond Hill sidewalk in the early morning of Jan. 6. The Post noted, “Fuertes had been lying in the 32-degree weather for about two hours after being sexually assaulted and strangled, law-enforcement sources have said.” Fuertes later died at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, having suffered a broken spine and rib fractures. Khan was charged with murder, sexual abuse, contact by forcible compulsion, and sexual abuse against a person incapable of consent.
The Post added that Fuertes “allegedly implicated himself before being arrested last Friday.” Before he was charged with the murder of Fuertes, Khan informed police he was only trying to help Fuertes on the ground when he “fell down, his belt broke, his pants fell down and his penis fell near her vagina,” but Assistant District Attorney Joseph Grasso said at Khan’s arraignment, “Defendant then stated that he did lift up her skirt and tried to put his penis inside of her.”
&#8220;The city’s detainer law and policy mandates that officials turn over to ICE only those who are convicted of violent and serious offenses, and only when ICE has met legal and due process requirements, according to a city official,&#8221; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/14/nyregion/92-year-old-woman-queens-murder.html">The New York Times</a> noted. The NYPD said it “did not receive an ICE detainer” regarding Khan, but ICE spokeswoman Rachael Yong Yow noted a fax confirmation receipt of a detainer request sent to the NYPD’s Queens Central Booking unit at 7:41 a.m. on Nov. 27.
ICE stated:
<blockquote>ICE lodges detainers on individuals who have been arrested on criminal charges and who ICE has probable cause to believe are removable aliens. The detainer asks the other law enforcement agency to notify ICE in advance of release and to maintain custody of the alien for a brief period of time so that ICE can take custody of that person in a safe and secure setting upon release from that agency’s custody. When law enforcement agencies fail to honor immigration detainers and release serious criminal offenders onto the streets, it undermines ICE’s ability to protect public safety and carry out its mission.</blockquote>
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Security Around New York City Increased After U.S. Missile Strike In Baghdad Kills Iranian Top General Qasem Soleimani

Feds Blame De Blasio For Murder Of 92-Year-Old Woman By Illegal Immigrant

Murder

Recently, documentary filmmaker and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ami-horowitz-talks-about-his-attempt-reach-65000-frank-camp">tongue-in-cheek</a> former 2020 Democratic Party presidential candidate Ami Horowitz <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kvw4_boUOi0">hit the ground running</a> in Brooklyn to highlight the increasingly unavoidable anti-Semitism epidemic currently plaguing New York City. Horowitz published a video last Sunday entitled, &#8220;Anti-Semitism Grows in Brooklyn.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe title="Anti-Semitism Grows in Brooklyn" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kvw4_boUOi0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
In the video, Horowitz approaches various Brooklyn denizens and asks them whether they believe New York City has an anti-Semitism problem.
&#8220;Video journalist Ami Horowitz recently spent two hours on the streets of Brooklyn asking black men and women why Jews are being attacked in New York,&#8221; the Jewish Press <a href="https://www.jewishpress.com/multimedia/video-picks/ami-on-the-loose-antisemitism-grows-in-brooklyn/2020/01/06/">reported</a>. &#8220;We believe the video important for several reasons and therefore are sharing the transcript of it below &#8230; .&#8221;
Because The Daily Wire agrees with the Jewish Press as to the importance of this brief documentary film, The Daily Wire is also sharing a nearly full transcript of the interview portions of Horowitz&#8217;s video. <a href="https://www.jewishpress.com/multimedia/video-picks/ami-on-the-loose-antisemitism-grows-in-brooklyn/2020/01/06/">Hat tip to the Jewish Press</a>:
<blockquote>Horowitz: What’s going on? What do you think is going on here?
Respondent #1: Know what I think is going on? Because it seems like — I’m not being a racist or anti-Semitic — but it seem like the Jewish people own all the buildings out here, and they own everything, and they’re not sharing nothing.
Respondent #2: They own everything down here. They comin’ over here and they takin’ over, but they’re not bringing it back to us. See, they kickin’ us out.
Respondent #1: And I don’t want to go back to World War II with Hitler and all of that, but it seem like they own all the property, and we don’t, they don’t even try to help us.
Respondent #3: We’re not sayin’ that it’s right, but they tryin’ to take over our buildings, and so they tryin’ to make everything more expensive for us.
Respondent #4: The Jewish is known to be rich for Brooklyn. So, you know, of course &#8230;
Horowitz: So is that a reason why you think the attacks are happening?
Respondent #4: That is why the attacks are happening.
Respondent #1: The “haves” and “have-nots.”
Respondent #5: That doesn’t mean that’s the majority thought over here. … Not everybody in this neighborhood has a problem with Jews. I really think you’re insulting African-Americans by being in this neighborhood and asking that question.
Respondent #6: The blacks are doing this to the Jews just to get by. It’s not right. It’s not right.
Respondent #7: I taught my children love. Love conquers all. … They controllin’ all the jobs, economic growth in the community.
Respondent #3: [They’re] comin’ from their country into our country and they tryin’ to change up our country to how they live.
Respondent #8: They’re gonna get money from here, and they’re gonna send it home to their country.
Horowitz: Which, which country? Not …
Respondent #8: Not in the United States.
Horowitz: That’s not their country.
Respondent #8: No.
Horowitz: So do you think the Jews here are not really American?
Respondent #8: They not.
Horowitz: So black people would have reason to attack Jews?
Respondent #9: I wouldn’t say they have reason to, but it is understandable ‘cause everybody takin’ from us.</blockquote>
New York Post columnist Karol Markowicz penned a <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/12/29/how-liberals-are-allowing-anti-semitism-to-flourish/">potent recent piece</a> about how the leftist governments of New York City and New York state are allowing anti-Semitism to fester there.
&#8220;I used to write about Europeans and their apathetic attitudes ­toward the Jew-hatred around them,&#8221; Markowicz wrote. &#8220;Synagogues torched, Jews beaten — just another day on the Continent. But now the demon is here, in America. Worse, it’s stalking Jews with increasing regularity in New York City, my city, home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel.&#8221;
&#8220;In 2020, I don’t want to read ­another column like this one,&#8221; Markowicz continued. &#8220;All Jews want is to live our lives in safety. To ensure that, [New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio] will have to stop using the violence against us to fight his invisible political foes. De Blasio’s ideology has led to apathy, which, in turn, has resulted in injured Jews in our city.&#8221;
In a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-an-armed-and-trained-jew-is-the-best-kind-of-jew">Daily Wire op-ed</a> following the recent horrific machete attack in Monsey, New York, I called for American Jews to train and arm themselves en masse:
<blockquote>It is wholly appropriate for us to demand concrete action, and not mere grandstanding, from <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/12/29/how-liberals-are-allowing-anti-semitism-to-flourish/">those politicians</a> who have allowed this despicable resurgence of the world’s oldest bigotry to fester under their watch. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio should both be thoroughly ashamed of themselves for their tepid responses, to-date, for what is rapidly metastasizing into a full-blown epidemic.
But ultimately, the imperative is on each individual Jew to be the guardian of his/her own security. Why on Earth would Jews, the most systemically persecuted group of humans to have ever lived, delegate responsibility for their own lives to third-party actors?</blockquote>

Orthodox Jews NYPD Brooklyn

WATCH: Ami Horowitz Hits The Ground In Brooklyn To Highlight NYC’s Shocking Anti-Semitism

Ami Horowitz

Andrew Cuomo

Anti-Semitism

Judaism

Twenty-five thousand people marched in New York City on Sunday under the banner “<a href="https://forward.com/news/437752/photos-from-new-yorks-no-fear-no-hate-solidarity-march/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://forward.com/news/437752/photos-from-new-yorks-no-fear-no-hate-solidarity-march/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEdxXniI836EDbYLXaD_1sLKEoQig">No Hate, No Fear</a>,” ostensibly targeting anti-Semitic violence directed at recognizably-Orthodox Jews. Only two things were missing: Printed signs with the words “anti-Semitism” or “Jews,” and more than a smattering of recognizably-Orthodox Jews.
The two phenomena are related.
Hateful violence emerges from a hateful ideology. The march was not merely useless, but from my perspective it was actually counterproductive; it provided cover for those spreading bigotry to proclaim, “look, we love Jews!”
In reality, it is not difficult to understand why attacks are happening at an alarming rate. Classic anti-Semitism is not merely spreading on college campuses across the nation, but is even welcomed in the halls of Congress.
The classic beliefs of the anti-Semite are simple: That the Jews constitute a supremacist cult who believe themselves entitled to take advantage of others, and most commonly do so by theft, fraud, and deceit. In 3,300 years of Jew-hatred, there hasn’t been an anti-Jewish trope that didn’t trace its roots to this basic idea.
Mark Twain noted, while reporting on Austro-Hungarian battles in the 19th century, that the Jews were opposed by all sides — even though they largely tried to avoid the conflict and keep their heads down. It is no different today.
To white supremacists, the Jews are “International Enemy Number One.” Neo-Nazi website Stormfront.com has a discussion thread entitled “Jews are dangerous,” which since March 2016 has garnered over 715 pages of hate.
Yet anti-white racists tar Jews with “white privilege”; the fact that Jews obviously suffered at the hands of European whites more than any other people escapes them. They include even Jews expelled from Syria, Iraq, Iran, and elsewhere across the Middle East; they are still claimed to have “white privilege,” while those who drove them out, who have identical skin tones, are “people of color.” It is pure racism.
And by far the most popular current form of this bigotry is the modern invention of a purportedly unique &#8220;Palestinian&#8221; people, from whom we are told the Jews have ostensibly stolen land.
The proofs are legion. Until 1964, “Palestinians” actually referred to Jews living in British Mandatory Palestine. In 1922, the British divided modern-day Jordan from the rest of Mandatory Palestine, and even current Palestinian Authority chieftain Mahmoud Abbas says that Jordanians and Palestinians are “one people living in two states” — putting the lie to the notion of a homeless Palestinian.
Every indigenous people has its own name, such as the Apache, Pueblo, and Iroquois. They do not call themselves by the foreign term “Native Americans” — nor, of course, do they claim that the borders of particular U.S. states delineate their homelands. Yet the “Palestinians” appropriate their name from Roman imperialists, and have a homeland which, just coincidentally of course, precisely traces the borders of modern Israel.
And in case you still don’t get it, a “Palestinian” is anyone — <a href="https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/12/palestinian-relations-israel-druze-community-army.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/12/palestinian-relations-israel-druze-community-army.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEPKoy7m3b6gdWycicgEQSG0x-jdA">Druze</a>, <a href="https://www.palestine-studies.org/resources/special-focus/palestinian-bedouins" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.palestine-studies.org/resources/special-focus/palestinian-bedouins&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGivEiX4mLiUyA5ocNKQqaslGowFw">Bedouin</a>, Muslim, or <a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/10/31/the-ethnic-cleansing-of-palestinian-christians-that-nobody-is-talking-about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/10/31/the-ethnic-cleansing-of-palestinian-christians-that-nobody-is-talking-about/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFEaXtRYS9FlIAN42-hnt0z0kzHgQ">Christian</a> — whose family ever lived in the ancient Jewish homeland. Rather, the &#8220;Palestinians&#8221; are defined by what they are not: The Jews who constituted the majority of Jerusalem’s populace prior to the advent of modern Zionism, and who never left the so-called “occupied” territories except due to deliberate ethnic cleansing — such as that conducted by Arab mobs in both 1929 and 1948.
Notice that these hateful tropes precisely correspond to what reporters heard on the streets of Jersey City and Brooklyn when they interviewed other residents after the hateful attacks there. Residents spoke about Jews unfairly buying them out, not renting to them, and driving them away. These lies are all rooted in the same animus as is the popular modern “Palestinian” narrative — which, in reality, is indeed far older than even Roman Palestine.
It is not mere happenstance that the machete-wielding thug who attacked people at a Chanukah celebration searched online not only for “Hitler” but for “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/30/nyregion/jewish-attacks.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/30/nyregion/jewish-attacks.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEkU392rry2GSMNaWT0let4P20pAg">Zionist Temples</a>” before attacking largely non-Zionist Hasidic Jews in suburban New York. Again, hateful violence emerges from a hateful ideology.
This hate will not be resolved by marching alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who, by her own admission, knows <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TJK1a8OHyw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3D4TJK1a8OHyw&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGDYPykbd-Strnhxd-vSk0bZpicTw">nothing about the Middle East</a> except that the Jews are (surprise, surprise) &#8220;stealing land&#8221; (in &#8220;Palestine&#8221;) and being unfair to others. It will not be fixed by the bigots of <a href="https://www.ifnotnowmovement.org/2020-platform" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ifnotnowmovement.org/2020-platform&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFjBpsnMOCNuBxgGntQEii02LkRrQ">IfNotNow</a>, who claim that Jewish refugees of Arab ethnic cleansing are “occupying” Arab land in the eternal homeland of the Jews.
It will be helped if universities finally acknowledge that Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is a hate group that <a href="https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/03/22/nyc-students-for-justice-in-palestine-pay-social-media-tribute-to-martyrs-killed-while-carrying-out-terrorist-attacks-against-israelis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/03/22/nyc-students-for-justice-in-palestine-pay-social-media-tribute-to-martyrs-killed-while-carrying-out-terrorist-attacks-against-israelis/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFmzgJzxBwGkw4Fso1d-wD6_CdnQw">honors almost exclusively</a> those who have committed <a href="https://dailynorthwestern.com/2017/05/16/campus/organizer-rasmea-odeh-speaks-at-northwestern-for-sjps-israeli-apartheid-week/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://dailynorthwestern.com/2017/05/16/campus/organizer-rasmea-odeh-speaks-at-northwestern-for-sjps-israeli-apartheid-week/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFn9UlTllaQBsAL2sPZ4P_oN_qREg">murderous, barbaric acts</a> against Jews both <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/far-left-students-praise-palestinian-terrorist-group-leader-at-liberation-event" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.foxnews.com/us/far-left-students-praise-palestinian-terrorist-group-leader-at-liberation-event&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHuZnEtXpCSJTWQAetp1M2T5YFTiA">in and outside Israel</a>. Today, the same universities that would deny funding to a KKK chapter sickeningly honor SJP as a <a href="https://nyunews.com/news/2019/04/10/president-service-award-palestine-israel-divest" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nyunews.com/news/2019/04/10/president-service-award-palestine-israel-divest&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGphZ56j8cr7z3aNOiAvbmLKRKuSg">“human rights” cause</a>.
And it will be helped when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) recognizes that an outstanding anti-Semitic bigot like Rep. <a href="https://www.stopantisemitism.org/anti-semite-of-the-week" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.stopantisemitism.org/anti-semite-of-the-week&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593602493000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFDAjYGdrBCwxgWCk9QIP5VbnWxHA">Ilhan Omar</a> (D-MN) does not belong on the Foreign Affairs Committee — or, indeed, anywhere else in Congress.
Until this hatred is repudiated, these attacks will not stop — yet on the progressive Left, this hateful ideology is supported, while it is the opposition that is censored. Those infected with this mindset cannot be part of the solution, as they are themselves part of the problem.
Rabbi Yaakov Menken is the managing director of the <a href="https://coalitionforjewishvalues.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://coalitionforjewishvalues.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593164733000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHLN2_sFEnPCsMZZCT1wIePVktmOg">Coalition for Jewish Values</a>, and co-editor of the Orthodox Jewish journal <a href="https://cross-currents.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://cross-currents.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1578593164733000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHDWEFT_osCyA6CYu82vPnKoRactA">Cross-Currents.com</a>. Opinions are his own.

New York City Jewish Solidarity March

MENKEN: To Stop Hateful Attacks On Jews, Oppose The Ideology Behind Them

Israel

Palestinians

Students for Justice in Palestine

Zionism

Last night, Daily Wire Editor-at-Large Josh Hammer, an attorney and former federal judicial law clerk, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cup29nPmOgo">joined</a> “Tipping Point With Liz Wheeler” on One America News Network to discuss New York state&#8217;s extraordinarily controversial new &#8220;bail reform&#8221; legislation. The law, which the New York Post editorial board <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/01/07/with-lives-at-stake-albany-must-bail-reform-failure-now/">decries</a> today as a flat-out &#8220;bad law,&#8221; eliminates the possibility of judge-imposed cash bail for the overwhelming majority of crimes committed in the Empire State.
Here is how the Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/01/07/with-lives-at-stake-albany-must-bail-reform-failure-now/">describes</a> some of the problems with the law:
<blockquote>One huge problem: The new law prevents judges from ordering most criminal suspects jailed, or even requiring them to post bail, no matter how clear a threat to public safety they pose. Judges retain discretion only if the charges include a handful of very violent crimes and they deem the suspect a clear flight risk.
This guarantees a revolving door for serious perps: Caught for a minor holdup, you’ll be charged and released — and can do it again, get caught again and be released again, time after time after time.</blockquote>
The Daily Wire has also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-bail-reform-woman-involved-in-anti-semitic-attack-arrested-released-for-3-crimes-in-5-days">previously reported</a> on the law&#8217;s noxiousness. The Daily Wire&#8217;s Amanda Prestigiacomo recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-bail-reform-woman-involved-in-anti-semitic-attack-arrested-released-for-3-crimes-in-5-days">reported</a> on a serial anti-Semitic assaulter who astoundingly committed three separate crimes in a span of five days due to the law&#8217;s inordinate leniency. As also reported by Prestigiacomo, all five borough district attorneys in New York City have gone on the record stating that the law goes too far in favoring defendants.
Hammer has consistently been very critical of this type of pro-criminal, &#8220;jailbreak&#8221;-style legislation. Last weekend, Giancarlo Sopo of TheBlaze <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/virginia_weak_on_crime_democrats">quoted</a> him in the context of a similar partisan Democratic initiative in Virginia:
<blockquote>Reached by telephone, constitutional law attorney and Daily Wire editor-at-large Josh Hammer told TheBlaze that [the proposed Virginia] bill is part of a pattern among Democrats and like-minded &#8220;weak-on-crime&#8221; Republicans.
&#8220;Across the country, we see so many leftist Democrats — joined by no small share of libertarian-leaning Republicans — subscribing to the same weak-on-crime agenda,&#8221; Hammer, who has been critical of similar so-called &#8220;criminal justice reform&#8221; efforts, said.
&#8220;New York&#8217;s harrowing recent &#8216;bail reform&#8217; proposal is a shining example, and this Democratic proposal in Virginia fits in neatly, as well. Americans have historically cherished law and order, and it is devastating to see these kind of jailbreak, pro-criminal policies take hold as we descend further into mass lawlessness,&#8221; he added.</blockquote>
Wheeler began the segment by asking Hammer about the New York lawmakers&#8217; purported aim — to reduce inequality and promote justice — and why the law&#8217;s authors do not seem to care about equality and justice for the actual victims of crime. Hammer launched into a rant about how the Left is able to effectively wield seemingly anodyne language, such as &#8220;bail reform,&#8221; as a cudgel to advance their lawless agenda:
<blockquote>The problem with the Left is the Left speaks about justice and compassion and all these fancy words. They never focus on the people who actually suffer &#8230; from their policies. So in the case of border security and amnesty, there is no one who suffers worse from an open border and the human trafficking by drug cartels than the aliens themselves who are trafficked. In the case of &#8220;criminal justice reform,&#8221; &#8220;bail reform,&#8221; no one suffers more than victims of crime.
Where is anyone speaking for the victims of crime? But you know what the Left also does, Liz? The Left is amazing at getting the right version of language for their policies. &#8220;Bail reform,&#8221; it sounds so innocuous, right? What they&#8217;re doing is they&#8217;re throwing out a system of bail that has existed since at least 13th century England! That is how far back bail goes — cash bail, monetary bail. This is literally a centuries-old phenomenon that they are just throwing out.</blockquote>
WATCH:
<iframe title="New York&#039;s No Bail Law Disaster" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cup29nPmOgo?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Hammer OANN 1.07.20

WATCH: Hammer On ‘Tipping Point With Liz Wheeler’: New York’s Insane Pro-Criminal Bail Law

Hate Crime

Jail

Leftism

New York

Prison

Progressivism

The year 2019 wraps up as one of the most anti-Semitic in the recent history of New York City — capped off by a slew of hate crimes occurring over the celebration of Chanukah and even extending into the nascent new year.
In just over a week, nine incidents were perpetrated against Jews in the greater New York area, among them a machete-wielding attacker injuring five individuals at a suburban Monsey Chanukah celebration, a shooting threat at a Jewish organization’s headquarters in Brooklyn, and a Hasidic man punched and thrown to the ground by a group of thugs. At least 13 anti-Semitic assaults have been reported in New York City just since December 23.
And while the latest wave of anti-Semitism carried out in the New York City metropolitan area is disturbing, the upward trend of anti-Semitic attacks over a span of several years demonstrates a much larger and more predictable pattern. Anti-Semitic incidents in New York state surged over 96% from 2016 to 2017, with over 50% of the anti-Semitic assaults committed nationally occurring just in the Empire State. For the year 2017, more than 60% of New York state anti-Semitism took place in New York City.
The year 2018 saw anti-Semitic assaults in New York proliferate yet again, this time by an order of 55% — all of that just within the five boroughs. And yet again, in 2019, anti-Semitism accounted for considerably over half of all hate crimes perpetrated in the city.
Nationally, similar patterns arise, with anti-Semitism consistently ranking as the most prominent form of religious discrimination, but the unenviable ascent of anti-Semitism in New York City remains unparalleled in any other big city.
And the logic for the rapid rise in New York City-based Jew-hatred lies, in no small part, with the leadership and neglectful inaction by Mayor Bill de Blasio. Unsurprisingly, the overwhelming narrative surrounding any form of discrimination — anti-Semitism chief among them — in New York City places blame squarely with those on the far-right. Ironic, perhaps, given that New York City consistently ranks among the most liberal urban areas globally, that the far-right might hold sway there. Nonetheless, de Blasio trudges forward, claiming last summer that “the violent threat, the threat that is ideological, is very much from the Right.”
Sadly, the vast majority of the recent anti-Semitic attacks have been perpetrated by <a href="https://www.investigativeproject.org/8240/black-on-jewish-violence-marks-the-new-new-anti">black and Hispanic individuals</a> and in some of the most liberal enclaves of an already left-leaning city. In the first four months of 2019, with anti-Semitic hate crimes on pace to increase by 82% from 2018, de Blasio denied City Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s request for a fully-funded Office of Prevention of Hate Crimes. Speaker Johnson noted, at the time, that the funding necessary for a fully functional office would nearly double in the 2020 fiscal year, yet de Blasio has shown no intention to allocate any additional funds.
Beyond budgeting shortfalls, New York City’s criminal and bail reform practices have demonstrably returned virulent anti-Semites to the street without bail set. Thirty-year-old Tiffany Harris, responsible for the aggravated assault of three Jewish individuals last week, was released from police custody without bail following the first assault, only to commit the same heinous act twice more — a day later. She was again released with no bail. A policy enacted for the new year disqualifies swaths of crimes from being eligible for bail altogether in New York state. The laundry list of now-disqualified crimes includes third-degree assault, forms of aggravated assault, terrorist threats, arson in the third- and fourth-degrees, and even second-degree manslaughter. These crimes are often the direct criminal behaviors that have been taking place against Jews.
Tangible solutions and an end to the public safety crisis faced by Jews won’t come about by denying the realities of the situation. Pragmatically, significant fault lies with de Blasio himself and the state legislature, due to enacting poorly conceived policies and deflecting responsibility for the attacks to a preferred ideological foe.

Sunset in New York City

PHILLIPS: A Year Of Rampant Anti-Semitism In New York City

On New Year’s Eve, a Domino’s Pizza in New York City’s Times Square decided to sell $30 pizzas to those awaiting the 2020 ball drop, reports the <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/12/31/dominos-sells-30-pizzas-to-times-square-ball-drop-revelers-on-new-years-eve/">New York Post</a>.
Upset by the restaurant’s alleged price increase, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio took to social media to express himself:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Jacking up your prices on people trying to celebrate the holidays? Classy, <a href="https://twitter.com/dominos?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dominos</a>.
To the thousands who came to Times Square last night to ring in 2020, I’m sorry this corporate chain exploited you — stick it to them by patronizing one of our fantastic LOCAL pizzerias. <a href="https://t.co/rO6I9oYIku">pic.twitter.com/rO6I9oYIku</a>
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/1212427695595905024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2020</a></blockquote>
<blockquote>Jacking up your prices on people trying to celebrate the holidays? Classy, <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/dominos">@dominos</a>. To the thousands who came to Times Square last night to ring in 2020, I’m sorry this corporate chain exploited you — stick it to them by patronizing one of our fantastic LOCAL pizzerias.</blockquote>
For this tweet, the mayor was ratioed big time. While de Blasio’s tweet has 1,667 “likes” and 339 retweets as of publication, it has been commented on approximately 5,500 times.
User Ethan Case wrote: “Even at $30 its price competitive with full pies at any of those ‘local’ pizzerias near times square on a normal day, and they have to pay delivery guys to run that pizza through a crown on foot b/c people can&#8217;t leave their position to go to a pizza place.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">
Even at $30 its price competitive with full pies at any of those &#8220;local&#8221; pizzerias near times square on a normal day, and they have to pay delivery guys to run that pizza through a crown on foot b/c people can&#8217;t leave their position to go to a pizza place.
— Ethan Case (@EthanCase) <a href="https://twitter.com/EthanCase/status/1212429157008920577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2020</a></blockquote>
User Emily Barry echoed Case, writing: “First, $30 is not that far off from what a large pizza costs around Times Square anyway, and the added $ to get it to through the crowds to the person is completely justified. Second, Dominos franchise operations are also owned by hardworking NYers. This is a bad take.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">
First, $30 is not that far off from what a large pizza costs around Times Square anyway, and the added $ to get it to through the crowds to the person is completely justified. Second, Dominos franchise operations are also owned by hardworking NYers. This is a bad take.
— Emily Barry (@emilyhbarry) <a href="https://twitter.com/emilyhbarry/status/1212453424949796871?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2020</a></blockquote>
They’re not incorrect. The Daily Wire surveyed several local pizza restaurants around Times Square, and found large pepperoni pies ranging from $23.95 before tip to $31.57 before tip.
A large pepperoni pizza from the Times Square Domino’s location goes for approximately $17.24 before taxes, tip, or delivery fees. Once tax and delivery are added in, and with a 20% tip, you’re looking at a $28.73 pizza.
User The Safest Space made a salient point, writing: “And if the $30 was too expensive then nobody would have bought it. The market worked perfectly here, people who really wanted pizza got it despite the chaos of NYE in Times Square.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">
And if the $30 was too expensive then nobody would have bought it. The market worked perfectly here, people who really wanted pizza got it despite the chaos of NYE in Times Square
— The Safest Space (@TheSafestSpace) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheSafestSpace/status/1212454525510000641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2020</a></blockquote>
User Marie Brown wrote: “He wants $15 minimum wage with $1 burgers and $5 pizzas. He has never had to make a payroll or earn a dollar through earned revenue. Taxes, fees and fines are his sources of revenue.  He should call out the high personal property taxes in NYC and leave his local businesses alone.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">
He wants $15 minimum wage with $1 burgers and $5 pizzas. He has never had to make a payroll or earn a dollar through earned revenue. Taxes, fees and fines are his sources of revenue. He should call out the high personal property taxes in NYC and leave his local businesses alone.
— Marie Brown (@mariebrown) <a href="https://twitter.com/mariebrown/status/1212905665271881728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2020</a></blockquote>
Mayor de Blasio has been championing higher minimum wages for several years now. As a matter of fact, as of January 1, 2020, New York City’s $15/hour minimum wage law goes into full effect.
According to the <a href="https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/politics/albany/2019/12/23/new-yorks-minimum-wage-rising-again-heres-what-itll-2020/2586881001/">Democrat and Chronicle</a>:
<blockquote>Wages are finally reaching $15 an hour this year – at least in New York City, where workers at small businesses with 10 or less employees will be receiving a $1 raise from the current $14 per hour wage. Large New York City employers with 11 or more employees began paying $15 last year, as did city fast-food employers.</blockquote>
As to the mayor’s suggestion that New Yorkers shun Domino’s and patronize “local pizzerias” instead, a spokesperson for the company <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/varney-bill-de-blasio-dominos-pizza-times-square">told</a> Fox Business Network:
<blockquote>Every store in [New York City] is owned by a local resident. &#8230; Every employee is a local New York resident. Those stores provide jobs to thousands of his fellow citizens. With his comments, the mayor is suggesting that New Yorkers who own or work at a franchise are “lesser than” those who don&#8217;t.</blockquote>

Bill de Blasio.

De Blasio Rebukes Times Square Domino’s For Selling $30 Pizzas At NYE Ball Drop; Gets Wrecked On Social Media

Dominoes pizza

Economy

In October 2018, during Sabbath morning services, a white supremacist attacked the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, murdering 11 people and wounding another six. In April 2019, in the middle of Passover, a white supremacist attacked the Chabad of Poway synagogue, murdering one person and seriously wounding another three. Both incidents started absolutely necessary conversations about the prevalence and nature of the white supremacist threat to Jews across the country.
Four people were murdered at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City by self-described Black Hebrew Israelites just weeks ago; five people were stabbed at a Hanukkah celebration in Monsey, New York; this week alone, New York police are investigating at least nine anti-Semitic attacks. The upsurge of violence against Jews in New York in particular has finally prompted commentary from Democratic politicians ranging from New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who just weeks ago expressed shock at anti-Semitism reaching &#8220;the doorstep of New York City&#8221;; to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who expressed puzzlement at the attacks, noting broadly: &#8220;This is an intolerant time in our country. We see anger; we see hatred exploding.&#8221;
This isn&#8217;t new. Back in 2018, The New York Times admitted there was a massive spike in anti-Semitic attacks in the city — and even acknowledged that the newspaper of record had failed to cover that surging anti-Semitism because &#8220;it refuses to conform to an easy narrative with a single ideological enemy.&#8221; But that has always been true of anti-Semitism. It&#8217;s possible, as the Times should recognize, to walk and chew gum at the same time in covering anti-Semitism.
But it&#8217;s not mere lack of focus and time preventing the media from taking anti-Semitism in New York seriously. It&#8217;s the identity of the attackers. Armin Rosen wrote for Tablet Magazine back in July 2019 about the Jew hatred in New York and correctly noted &#8220;that the victims are most often outwardly identifiable, i.e., religious rather than secularized Jews, and the perpetrators who have been recorded on CCTV cameras are overwhelmingly black and Hispanic.&#8221; This throws the media — and many left-leaning Jewish organizations — into spasms of confusion, since it cuts directly against the supposed alliance of intersectionality so beloved by the political Left. White supremacists attacking left-leaning Jews fits a desired narrative. Black teenagers beating up Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg doesn&#8217;t.
And so the Left ignores the wrong type of anti-Semitism.
The same media that will ask whether President Donald Trump&#8217;s executive orders designed to protect Jews on campus are ackshually anti-Semitic will ignore the fact that former President Barack Obama sat in Jeremiah Wright&#8217;s church for 20 years — the same Jeremiah Wright who railed against Jews and Israel routinely during those years; who said Jews kept Obama from talking with him after the election; and who avers that &#8220;Jesus was a Palestinian.&#8221; Democratic candidates who suggest that Trump has emboldened anti-Semites will make pilgrimage to Rev. Al Sharpton, who was instrumental in not one but two anti-Semitic riots. The same commentators who will police Republican references to George Soros for hints of anti-Semitism completely excuse open anti-Semitism when it comes from Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar. It&#8217;s deemed completely vital by our intelligentsia to survey white Americans for signs of white supremacy and, by extension, signs of anti-Semitism. Those same intelligentsia will patently ignore the fact that anti-Semitic attitudes among black Americans far outweigh similar attitudes among other racial groups, according to repeated polling by the Anti-Defamation League.
Anti-Semitism grows when the victims become secondary and the perpetrators become primary. If you&#8217;re only concerned about anti-Semitism from white supremacists but utterly blithe about Jews being beaten in the streets of one of the nation&#8217;s largest cities by suspects who clearly are not white supremacists, you&#8217;re part of the problem. And that goes for those who govern New York, from de Blasio to Cuomo.

Bill De Blasio

SHAPIRO: When Anti-Semitism Doesn’t Matter

President Trump responded to the brutal mass stabbing attack on a Jewish community during Hanukkah in New York City Saturday night by calling for a united effort to &#8220;eradicate the evil scourge of anti-Semitism.&#8221;
&#8220;The anti-Semitic attack in Monsey, New York, on the 7th night of Hanukkah last night is horrific,&#8221; Trump, who has frequently condemned anti-Semitism, tweeted Sunday. &#8220;We must all come together to fight, confront, and eradicate the evil scourge of anti-Semitism. Melania and I wish the victims a quick and full recovery.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The anti-Semitic attack in Monsey, New York, on the 7th night of Hanukkah last night is horrific. We must all come together to fight, confront, and eradicate the evil scourge of anti-Semitism. Melania and I wish the victims a quick and full recovery.
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1211363928837632002?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The attack took place at around 10 p.m. Saturday night at the home of Hasidic Rabbi Chaim L. Rottenberg where dozens of Orthodox Jews had gathered for a Hanukkah celebration.
&#8220;Ramapo Police Chief Brad Weidel said the suspected attacker entered the residence around 10 p.m. armed with a knife,&#8221; <a href="https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/mass-stabbing-at-jewish-synagogue-in-rockland-county-ny-reports/2251668/">NBC New York</a> reports. &#8220;Saturday was the seventh night of Hanukkah and was being widely observed in Monsey, a hamlet that is home to thousands of Orthodox Jews. There were as many as 70 people in the rabbi’s home at the time of the attack.&#8221;
The suspect, who is a 38-year-old African American man (his name is here withheld according to Daily Wire policy on naming mass killers), injured five people, including Rabbi Rottenberg’s son. &#8220;Two partygoers are believed to be critically injured,&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/suspect-in-brutal-hanukkah-mass-stabbing-arrested-in-new-york-city-covered-in-blood">The Daily Wire</a> reports. &#8220;At least one of those critically injured sustained serious wounds to his face and neck.&#8221;
The suspect, who was arrested &#8220;<a href="https://nypost.com/2019/12/30/monsey-stabbing-suspect-may-be-tied-to-another-knifing-at-nearby-synagogue/">covered in blood</a>,&#8221; is expected to be charged with at least five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary. According to law enforcement sources, authorities are now investigating whether the suspect is connected to another knife attack that occurred earlier this month at a nearby synagogue.
&#8220;The man accused of using a machete to hack five Hanukkah celebrants is a schizophrenic who is now being investigated in the earlier stabbing of a Jewish man near a synagogue in the same Rockland County town, family friends and police sources said,&#8221; <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/12/30/monsey-stabbing-suspect-may-be-tied-to-another-knifing-at-nearby-synagogue/">The New York Post</a> reports.
Rev. Wendy Paige, the pastor of the suspect says he suffers from mental illness, specifically schizophrenia. “There hasn’t been anyone who has given a real solution to deal with a grown man who is dealing with schizophrenia, other than ‘Go home and call us if something happens,'&#8221; said Paige, as reported by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/29/nyregion/monsey-new-york-stabbing.html">The New York Times</a>. &#8220;He is a man who has mental illness in America, and the systems that be have not served him well.&#8221;
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo responded to the mass stabbing by vowing to take decisive action to end &#8220;hate&#8221;-fueled violence.
&#8220;Let’s call it what it is. These people are domestic terrorists and the law should reflect that and they should be punished as if it was an act of terrorism,&#8221; he said of those behind a string of anti-Semitic attacks. &#8220;It is intolerant it is ignorant but it is also illegal. At the end of the day, it is not just about words but actions. It is violence spurred by hate. It is mass violence and I consider this an act of domestic terrorism.&#8221;
Cuomo went on to pledge that he would &#8220;take the lead here in the state of New York&#8221; to end such acts of intolerance.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnns-tapper-on-nyc-anti-semitic-attacks-identity-of-attackers-dont-fit-political-narrative">CNN’s Tapper On NYC Anti-Semitic Attacks: Identity Of Attackers Don’t Fit ‘Political Narrative’</a>

Trump Urges Strong Response To Horrific Attack On NYC Jewish Community

The Guardian Angels, &#8220;a private, unarmed crime-prevention group,&#8221; will begin patrolling the streets of Brooklyn and and other majority-Jewish neighborhoods, it says, following a spate of anti-Semitic attacks in New York City, culminating in a mass stabbing that took place Saturday night at a Hanukkah party in a suburb of the metropolis.
The group, led by Curtis Sliwa, is best known for patrolling the streets of downtown Manhattan in the 1980s, when crime in the city was at an all-time high, and places like Times Square were hubs of adult entertainment and beehives of crime. The Guardian Angels, clad in embroidered red satin jackets and red berets, became a fixture of of the subways, which they rode to and from NYC&#8217;s high crime areas, where they conducted their surveillance.
They now feel compelled to help protect the Orthodox Jewish communities, under seige by anti-Semites. The group <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/guardian-angels-patrol-jewish-neighborhoods-new-york-city-after-recent-n1108251">told NBC News</a> that they plan on starting patrols at &#8220;noon in the Crown Heights neighborhood and [will] expand to Williamsburg and Borough Park later in the day.&#8221;
Sliwa actually made the announcement before an anti-Semitic attack in Monsey, New York, Saturday night that left five people critically injured. A man, wielding a machete, broke into a rabbi&#8217;s private residence where he was hosting a party for the seventh night of Hanukkah. The man stabbed several partygoers before being scared off, then tried to break into the synagogue next door. Occupants of the synagogue locked the doors and the man took off in a silver sedan. He was captured in New York City after his license plate triggered a reader on the George Washington bridge.
Saturday night&#8217;s attack was the latest in a string of anti-Semitic incidents &#8212; at least nine in as many days &#8212; and the latest in a years-long anti-Semitic campaign being waged against Orthodox Jews living in primarily Jewish neighborhoods in and around New York City.
&#8220;The most recent attack happened Friday. Police say 30-year-old Tiffany Harris slapped three Jewish women in Crown Heights. She was charged with attempted assault as a hate crime and released without bail,&#8221; <a href="https://wcbs880.radio.com/articles/guardian-angels-patrolling-after-anti-semitic-attacks">according to local media</a>. &#8220;Ayana Logan, 42, was arrested after she allegedly hit a woman in the head with a bag and made anti-Semitic comments in Gravesend on Thursday afternoon.
&#8220;In another incident on Christmas Day, a man in traditional religious clothing was punched as he walked home in Borough Park.&#8221;
Sliwa commissioned the Guardian Angels to patrol the streets of Crown Heights and Williamsburg after reviewing crime logs. In an interview with local media on Saturday, he blamed the NYPD for failing to address anti-Semitic violence, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio for turning a blind eye to the attacks out of political correctness.
&#8220;These attacks are taking place, and the cops have not been proactive at all,&#8221; Sliwa said. &#8220;It comes from City Hall and the mayor. He&#8217;s been just apathetic.&#8221;
De Blasio&#8217;s office insisted Sunday that they oppose anti-Semitism and that they have addressed the attacks, telling reporters in a statement that,&#8221;[t]he best police department in the world has increased deployment in Crown Heights, Boro Park and Williamsburg, and has launched a new intelligence unit to prevent hate crimes from occurring,&#8221; it continued. &#8220;We will continue to work hand in hand with the community to keep our city safe.”
The events of the last several weeks seem to suggest the city has not been taking the attacks seriously. According to local news outlet, <a href="https://www.pix11.com/news/local-news/there-were-alleged-attacks-on-jewish-new-yorkers-almost-every-day-last-week">PIX11</a>, there was at least one anti-Semitic attack every day last week.

The Guardian Angels Will Patrol Brooklyn, Jewish Neighborhoods After Spate Of Anti-Semitic Attacks

In a bizarre interview on Sunday, David Remnick, author of “The Bridge: The Life And Rise Of Barack Obama” and editor for The New Yorker magazine, expressed his frustration with Trump voters to CNN’s “Reliable Sources” host Brian Stelter. 
Responding to a question about whether anything will change following President Trump’s impeachment by House Democrats, Remnick stated that, “We’ve seen the Republicans stuck where they are. Their illusions about Trump remain,” adding that “the stakes here are immense.”
The Media Research Center <a href="https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/nicholas-fondacaro/2019/12/22/new-yorker-editor-future-earth-hangs-trumps-impeachment" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reports</a> that Remnick began to connect the impeachment hearing to the “future” of the planet, thereby linking it to one of the Left’s biggest political issues: Global warming.   
“It’s not just about the political future of one man, Donald Trump — it’s about the future of democracy and democratic process. And this is a trend throughout the world. It’s about the future of the Earth. We have a party that has decided to be disbelieving about climate change. It’s about issues as essential as that,” he said. 
Of course, Stelter did not bother to ask how global warming is somehow connected to the House Democrats’ move to impeach President Trump. Instead, allowing The New Yorker editor to continue to pontificate, Remnick went to discuss how the mainstream media are at a loss as to why President Trump remains popular in certain sectors of the country. 
“Right now, you have a country that is split, and to the great frustration of people like you and people like me, we don’t somehow understand,” he opined. “We don’t understand why the evidence of things, why facts don’t penetrate so many of our brothers and sisters in the United States of America. And it’s a source of great frustration for the press and for anybody who is thinking about these issues that are so important.”
He emphasized, “And this is a source of great frustration for the press. And for anyone who is thinking about these issues that are so important.”
Stelter echoed the sentiments, repeating, “for the press.” He then asked about the “eclipse of reason” of the Republican Party.
“Let’s not be deluded here. It&#8217;s not as if reason and fact and truth-telling were pervasive in any political party, much less the Republican Party. But things have gotten markedly worse,” Remnick answered. “So much of the Republican Party, their candidates, their leadership know the score. Everybody in the Senate and the House knows this is a man of low character, of ethical, of ethics run amuck. &#8230; Nobody in the Republican Party thinks this is a good and decent man. These are people who are looking to their political advantages. They think if they act against him somehow or speak against him, they&#8217;ll lose their seats. So, the only people speaking against him are people set to retire.”
This interview highlights a lack of self-awareness that is prevalent across large swaths of the news industry. As they try to connect global warming to the vote to impeach Trump, many Americans grow weary of such showboating by the press and congressional Democrats. 
The Daily Wire’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/klavan-cnn-accidentally-reveals-that-its-a-cult" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Andrew Klavan</a> has previously commented on the direction of the media and of Brian Stelter’s program, in particular. 
“I mean, it is comical that they can’t see themselves,” he said. “So it drives the Right crazy, it drives me crazy. This is the news. You turn on the news, CNN, the most trusted name in news, but that’s what you see on the news, and it drives you crazy.” 
<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/new-yorker-editor-david-remnick-says-trumps-impeachment-is-about-the-future-of-the-earth" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fox News</a>’ Brian Flood noted how the Remnick interview was mocked on social media, with Brit Hume pointing out, “Fortunately for the country and the planet, people seem to have sense enough not to believe this sort of claptrap.”
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Fortunately for the country and the planet, people seem to have sense enough not to believe this sort of claptrap. <a href="https://t.co/X9KyPyhiFy">https://t.co/X9KyPyhiFy</a>
&mdash; Brit Hume (@brithume) <a href="https://twitter.com/brithume/status/1208931836161904641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The 2019 New Yorker Festival &#8211; Terry Gross Talks With David Remnick

New Yorker Editor David Remnick To Nodding Stelter: &#8216;It’s A Great Frustration&#8217; Why People Vote For Trump

2019 in Washington

Andrew Klavan

Brian Stelter

Brit Hume

Climate Change

David Remnick

Global Warming

Media

A 16-year-old who was reportedly kidnapped earlier this week in New York City has been found and is now being accused by law enforcement officials of staging the entire incident.
&#8220;Sixteen-year-old Karol Sanchez and her mother, who are from Poughquag in Dutchess County, were in the city for a doctor&#8217;s appointment earlier Monday,&#8221; NBC New York <a href="https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/police-investigate-possible-kidnapping-of-16-year-old-girl-in-the-bronx/2243255/">reported</a>. &#8220;They were walking to a train station on Jackson Avenue around 11:30 p.m. when four men in a tan four-door sedan pulled up, according to law enforcement sources and police. Two men got out, pulled Sanchez in and drove off.&#8221;
The New York Times noted that many in New York City were captivated by the shocking kidnapping of Sanchez after law enforcement officials released a video of the alleged incident.
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<a href="https://t.co/TeHB5BUkxg">pic.twitter.com/TeHB5BUkxg</a>
&mdash; NYPD 40th Precinct (@NYPD40Pct) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYPD40Pct/status/1206912178533601282?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Several hours later, law enforcement officials declared victory in the case, writing on Twitter: &#8220;WE HAVE A VICTORY TODAY !! Karol has been found !!! Thank you to all who have worked very hard to track down the people involved in this case !!!&#8221;
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WE HAVE A VICTORY TODAY !! Karol has been found !!! Thank you to all who have worked very hard to track down the people involved in this case !!! <a href="https://t.co/TYD7IlU49N">pic.twitter.com/TYD7IlU49N</a>
&mdash; NYPD 40th Precinct (@NYPD40Pct) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYPD40Pct/status/1207021020114300935?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Yet soon after Sanchez was safely recovered by authorities she reportedly made a stunning confession: she made the whole thing up.
&#8220;Shortly after she was found on Tuesday afternoon, Karol was questioned by officers from the 40th Precinct, where she admitted to setting up the kidnapping and then was released to her family,&#8221; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/17/nyregion/karol-sanchez-bronx-amber-alert.html">The New York Times</a> reported. &#8220;During the interview, one police official said Karol described her mother as &#8216;overprotective.'&#8221;
The <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/12/17/karol-sanchez-staged-her-own-kidnapping-police-sources/">New York Post</a> reported that Sanchez allegedly staged the kidnapping &#8220;so that she could be with her boyfriend, a 23-year-old reputed Crips gangbanger once arrested for murder.&#8221;
The Times noted that during the incident Sanchez&#8217;s mother tried to intervene to stop the men from taking her daughter, at which point the men reportedly threw her on the ground.
Authorities are now reportedly weighing whether they will file criminal charges against Sanchez or the men who helped her stage the hoax.
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KAROL SANCHEZ FOUND: source telling me she was found on Eagle Ave near her home. She’ll be taken to Lincoln Hospital in a bit to be evaluated. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bronx?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bronx</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/News12BX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@News12BX</a> <a href="https://t.co/8Xob30HJrW">pic.twitter.com/8Xob30HJrW</a>
&mdash; Jessica Cunnington (@JessicaNews12) <a href="https://twitter.com/JessicaNews12/status/1207027719164366853?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Reaction online to the story was overwhelmingly negative with many comparing the case to the incident from earlier this year involving Jussie Smollett.
One Twitter user wrote: &#8220;Karol Sanchez and Jussie Smollett trynna set black folk back fifty years single handily.&#8221;
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Karol Sanchez and Jussie Smollett trynna set black folk back fifty years single handily🤦🏽‍♂️😒☹️🤯 <a href="https://t.co/jSPd34y2gM">pic.twitter.com/jSPd34y2gM</a>
&mdash; Babyface Kese (@BabyfaceKese) <a href="https://twitter.com/BabyfaceKese/status/1207077670967742465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Another Twitter user added: &#8220;So we had to start 2019 with Jussie Smollett&#8216;s hoax and now end it with Karol Sanchez&#8217;s staged kidnapping?! I am too through! 2020 can&#8217;t come soon enough!&#8221;
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So we had to start 2019 with Jussie Smollett&#39;s hoax and now end it with Karol Sanchez&#39;s staged kidnapping?! I am too through! 2020 can&#39;t come soon enough! <a href="https://t.co/jMi1n0BuSy">pic.twitter.com/jMi1n0BuSy</a>
&mdash; Giselle J. Phelps (@GisellePhelps) <a href="https://twitter.com/GisellePhelps/status/1207070237117603840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Another Twitter user wrote: &#8220;So the black community started off 2019 with the Jussie Smollett, and we’re ending it with Karol Sanchez. Boy I swear&#8230;. can’t win for losing.&#8221;
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So the black community started off 2019 with the Jussie Smollett, and we’re ending it with Karol Sanchez. Boy I swear&#8230;. can’t win for losing. <a href="https://t.co/oO37IXfgHw">pic.twitter.com/oO37IXfgHw</a>
&mdash; Kiana Jackson✨📚 (@kianarenai) <a href="https://twitter.com/kianarenai/status/1207074130253819905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Tariq Nasheed issued a series of tweets on the story, writing: &#8220;Why are all the details so sketchy about this Karol Sanchez abduction case? She has been found safe, but there are zero details about what happened. Who were the suspects? Where did they take her? Why did they take her? How was she found?&#8221;
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Why are all the details so sketchy about this Karol Sanchez abduction case? She has been found safe, but there are zero details about what happened. Who were the suspects? Where did they take her? Why did they take her? How was she found?
&mdash; Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) <a href="https://twitter.com/tariqnasheed/status/1207058799997018112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;We know this Karol Sanchez story is a hoax now, but things still seem fishy about it. The whole &#8216;sHe wUz sCarEd tO gO BaCk tO HoNdUrAs&#8217; story seems sketchy too. Whats REALLY behind this story?&#8221; Nasheed added. &#8220;We have to watch these non-Foundational Black Americans pulling these types of hoaxes that Karol Sanchez pulled. Because Black Americans somehow end up getting blamed.&#8221;
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We know this Karol Sanchez story is a hoax now, but things still seem fishy about it. The whole &quot;sHe wUz sCarEd tO gO BaCk tO HoNdUrAs&quot; story seems sketchy too.
Whats REALLY behind this story?
&mdash; Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) <a href="https://twitter.com/tariqnasheed/status/1207110363709198336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2019</a></blockquote>
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We have to watch these non-Foundational Black Americans pulling these types of hoaxes that Karol Sanchez pulled. Because Black Americans somehow end up getting blamed
&mdash; Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) <a href="https://twitter.com/tariqnasheed/status/1207112929478209537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2019</a></blockquote>
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NYPD car

Group Of Men Kidnap Teen Girl In The Bronx. Police Say The Girl Staged It.

Hoax

Last week a female student from Barnard College was found murdered in a New York City park. Shortly after, several young teenage boys – including a 13-year-old – were arrested for her murder.
On Sunday, Ed Mullins, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association – a police union – made a comment on a radio program that the victim, Tessa Majors, was in the park to buy marijuana.
“An 18-year-old college student at one of the most prestigious universities is murdered in a park, and what I’m understanding, she was in the park to buy marijuana,” Mullins said on John Catsimatidis’ radio show.
“And you think about that, we don’t enforce marijuana laws anymore. We’re basically hands-off on the enforcement of marijuana,” Mullins add. &#8220;So here we have a student murdered by a 13-year-old and we have a common denominator of marijuana. You know, my question to the people of New York City is, ‘Why is this happening?’”
The New York Daily News reported that police have not confirmed if what Mullins said was true. The outlet reported that Majors’ boyfriend said she was jogging in the park. The 13-year-old arrested for his role in the murder said he and his friends chose to rob Majors as she jogged down the steps of Morningside Park.
Even if what Mullins said was true, it had no bearing on Majors’ murder. Her reason for being in the park did not cause her murder – the three young men who killed her were responsible.
In a statement published Monday <a href="https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/murdered-barnard-freshmans-family-blasts-police-union-chief-over-marijuana-comment/2242512/">by NBC New York</a>, Majors’ family slammed Mullins for his remarks about Tessa.
&#8220;The remarks by Sergeants Benevolent Association president Ed Mullins we find deeply inappropriate, as they intentionally or unintentionally direct blame onto Tess, a young woman, for her own murder,&#8221; the Majors family said Monday. &#8220;We would ask Mr. Mullins not to engage in such irresponsible public speculation, just as the NYPD asked our family not to comment as it conducts the investigation.&#8221;
The family went on to say that they still want to know “what exactly happened to Tess and who committed her murder.”
“We believe, for the immediate safety of the community and the surrounding schools, that should be everyone’s top priority and we are grateful to the men and women of the NYPD for all of their efforts,&#8221; the family continued.
Majors had moved to New York this year to attend Barnard College as a freshman. She was interested in music and “sang and played guitar in a band called Patient 0, which recently played its first concert in New York,” The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/11/nyregion/barnard-student-fatal-stabbing.html">reported</a>.
On Friday night, the 13-year-old charged in Majors’ murder said during a court hearing that he and his friends put Majors in a chokehold and started robbing her. The young woman fought back and was able to bite one of the attackers on their finger. The teens then stabbed her and left her for dead.
NBC reported that Majors was able to find a security guard outside the park and ask for help. She was taken to a hospital but died soon after.

Site of Tessa Majors homicide

SERIOUSLY? Police Union President Releases Irrelevant Information That Victim-Blames Tessa Majors; Family Responds

On Wednesday afternoon, an 18-year-old female Barnard College student from Virginia was stabbed to death in a Manhattan park allegedly by a group of young men who mugged her, then killed her.
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Barnard College student Tessa Majors, 18, was found dead with multiple stab wounds in Morningside Park last night in what police say was a brutal robbery. <a href="https://t.co/2JLizJxAUr">https://t.co/2JLizJxAUr</a> <a href="https://t.co/0vuSeQTM72">pic.twitter.com/0vuSeQTM72</a>
&mdash; NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCNewYork/status/1205102524153372672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Tessa Majors, from Charlottesville, Virginia, was walking down a flight of steps into Morningside Park on West 116th Street at roughly 5:30 p.m. when the assailants attacked her, according to <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7783885/College-student-18-stabbed-death-group-thugs-walking-park.html">The Daily Mail</a>, which added, “According to police sources, they demanded money from her and stabbed her multiple times in the stomach before fleeing.&#8221; After Majors was transported to Mount Sinai St. Luke’s hospital she was pronounced dead, as <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2019/12/12/barnard-student-18-dead-following-stabbing-in-morningside-park/">The Columbia Spectator</a> reported.
The Daily Mail reported that police sources stated a 16-year-old boy, who is a known robbery suspect, was taken into custody from a nearby housing project; a group of young men in their teens were also interrogated. The Daily Mail added that the 16-year-old taken into custody was wearing a green jacket similar to one described by a witness to the attack; a trail of blood was found that led to an apartment the teen was known to frequent.
Majors’ grandmother, Martha Burton, told <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-stabbing-near-columbia-morningside-heights-20191212-ewofwz5e6jdshjl52dlbyqmyci-story.html">The New York Daily News</a>, &#8220;I guess being from a smaller town she was too naive to think about walking alone in New York City. She just shouldn’t have been there.&#8221;
One 20-year-old female student told The New York Times, “My friend is throwing up in the bathroom. She&#8217;s so scared.”
Barnard College president Sian Leah Beilock released a statement saying, “Tessa was just beginning her journey at Barnard and in life. We mourn this devastating murder of an extraordinary young woman and member of our community. This is an unthinkable tragedy that has shaken us to our core.” Ms. Beilock said she and Barnard College dean Leslie Grinage had communicated with Majors’ parents, who were traveling to New York.
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/11/nyregion/barnard-student-fatal-stabbing.html">The New York Times</a> reported, “Ms. Majors’s Instagram account shows a young woman new to the city and eager to develop her music. She sang and played guitar in a band called Patient 0, which recently played its first concert in New York. &#8216;Safe to say the first NYC show went well ;)&#8217; <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B3fWwF1g34M/">she wrote on Instagram on Oct. 11.</a> A month earlier, the band released an album called &#8216;Girl Problems.&#8217;”
The Columbia Spectator added, “Barnard’s Furman Counseling Center will remain open all night and during the day tomorrow, and Columbia University Counseling and Psychological Services will open until 2:15 a.m. on the fifth floor of Lerner. Kromm and several staff members from Columbia Residential Life will be in Wallach’s first floor Lounge until 4 a.m. to speak to students.”
The New York Times noted, “Major crime was down about 1 percent this year through Dec. 1 compared with the same period last year, but murder was up about 8 percent, according to Police Department statistics. There had been 298 murders by Dec. 1, compared with 275 to that point in 2018, police data showed.”
Update: an earlier version of this story based on news reports incorrectly stated that  the security booth was unattended. A Columbia university spokesperson has corrected those reports, stating: “The public safety officer assigned to 116th Street and Morningside Drive was at his post last night when the victim emerged from the park, and he came to her aid immediately upon recognizing that she was injured. Reports to the contrary are inaccurate. Officers stationed at this location do not make rounds that cause them to leave their post.&#8221;

Barnard

18-Year-Old Female Student From Virginia Mugged, Stabbed To Death In NYC Park

On November 24, 2019, Michael Rubens Bloomberg announced his formal entrance into the Democratic Party&#8217;s 2020 presidential primary. To date, he is the latest candidate to enter the primary field.
Michael Bloomberg served three full terms as mayor of New York City, from 2002 through the end of 2013. He was New York City&#8217;s mayoral successor of the failed 2008 Republican presidential candidate and current private attorney for President Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani. Bloomberg is also the co-founder, CEO, and majority owner of financial services conglomerate Bloomberg L.P., which is perhaps best known for its flagship Bloomberg Terminal hardware. As of November 2019, Bloomberg&#8217;s net worth was <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-bloomberg">estimated</a> at $58 billion dollars, which makes him one of the wealthiest individuals in the world. He has been a prolific donator to various charitable and political causes.
Born in Boston in 1942, Bloomberg has degrees from Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Business School. A registered Democrat earlier in his career, Bloomberg actually ran for and successfully sought the New York City mayoralty office as a registered Republican before re-registering as an independent in the midst of his second mayoral term. He re-registered as a Democrat in 2018. Since joining the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary field, Bloomberg News — an international news outlet operating as a legal subsidiary of Bloomberg L.P. — has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bloomberg-news-wont-investigate-bloomberg-democrats-its-journalists-go-to-work-on-bloombergs-campaign">announced</a> that it will not journalistically investigate Bloomberg or his fellow 2020 Democratic Party primary campaign rivals.
Electoral History: Bloomberg&#8217;s only experience in elected office is his three terms as New York City mayor. In 2001, shortly following the 9/11 jihadist attacks, Bloomberg sought to replace outgoing Mayor Rudy Giuliani as a fellow Republican and defeated his Democratic opponent, Mark Green, by a 50.3%–47.9% margin. In 2005, Bloomberg once again ran as a Republican and was re-elected by a nearly 20-point margin over his opponent, Fernando Ferrer. In 2009, after having successfully lobbied the New York City Council to change its mayoral two-term limit to a three-term limit, Bloomberg was narrowly elected to a third mayoral term while running as a Republican Party-endorsed registered independent.
On The Issues: Bloomberg&#8217;s general political profile is that of a fiscal and national security centrist, although he positions himself far to the left on social issues — with his <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/05/bloomberg-unveils-expansive-gun-control-plan-076376">anti-gun advocacy</a> perhaps emerging as the political issue with which he has become most closely identified. The latter stages of Bloomberg&#8217;s mayoral tenure were marked by odd flirtations with nanny state-style progressive governance, with the infamous <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2013/03/11/the-new-york-city-soda-ban-explained/">&#8220;soda ban&#8221;</a> as the most prominent example. Furthermore, in terms of hot-button leftist issues, Bloomberg&#8217;s current 2020 presidential campaign is aggressively <a href="https://www.mikebloomberg.com/policies/international-climate-priorities">advertising</a> his commitment to combatting global warming. But on bread-and-butter issues pertaining to fiscal prudence and foreign policy — perhaps especially with respect to Israel and the Middle East — Bloomberg is generally <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-michael-bloomberg-would-have-no-chance-at-the-democratic-presidential-nomination">far more centrist</a> than most of his other primary opponents.
Constitution: Bloomberg&#8217;s career in the financial services industry and his tenure as New York City mayor provide little in the way of concrete guidance as to what he may believe about constitutional interpretation and judicial philosophy. However, following the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, Bloomberg expressed support for &#8220;chang[ing]&#8221; prevailing constitutional jurisprudence so as to allow for easier mass domestic surveillance. His far-left stances on most cultural issues might also portend a belief in leftist &#8220;living constitutionalism.&#8221; Similarly, his nanny state governing proclivities likely augur in favor of an expansive view of the Constitution&#8217;s Commerce Clause — a provision that has justified decades of progressive economic regulatory overreach, going back to the New Deal.
Economy: Bloomberg has self-described as a fiscal conservative, pointing to his balancing New York City&#8217;s budget as his most supportive data point. Bloomberg may indeed be fiscally conservative to the extent fiscal conservatism means cutting deficits and balancing budgets, but his mayoral tenure and public statements also evince a willingness to raise various taxes toward achieving those ends. Bloomberg is also a firm proponent of free trade and opponent of protectionist policies. Out of all the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, it is possible that no one better personifies the decades-long post-Reagan/Clinton bipartisan neoliberal economic consensus than Bloomberg.
Health Care: Bloomberg&#8217;s nanny state governing tendencies, as best seen with the now-infamous &#8220;soda ban,&#8221; are perhaps most evident in the health care context. Despite his self-identification as a fiscal conservative, then, Bloomberg has long demonstrated a willingness to extend the reach of government to regulate both health care and the health of those citizens under his governing watch. His 2020 presidential campaign now <a href="https://www.mikebloomberg.com/getting-stuff-done">emphasizes</a> the pursuit of universal health care, and how &#8220;expanding Obamacare and Medicare is the best way to achieve universal coverage.&#8221;
Immigration: Bloomberg has previously been very critical of border hawks who call for deportations of illegal aliens, suggesting a personal view that mass amnesty is proper. To that end, he was supportive of the U.S. Senate&#8217;s failed 2007 &#8220;comprehensive immigration reform&#8221; push, which included amnesty for millions of illegal aliens as one of its underlying goals. As mayor of New York City, Bloomberg was fairly lax on immigration enforcement and largely shirked meaningful steps to crack down on illegal immigration plaguing the city. His current campaign <a href="https://www.mikebloomberg.com/getting-stuff-done">website</a> hails Bloomberg&#8217;s erstwhile formation of &#8220;pro-immigration organization New American Economy,&#8221; and he is generally seen as a staunch advocate of large-scale legal immigration.
Foreign Policy: Bloomberg assumed the New York City mayoralty in the near-term aftermath of the 9/11 jihadist attacks, and he is generally considered to be more hawkish on foreign policy and national security matters than most of his 2020 Democratic presidential rivals. He previously supported the PATRIOT Act, was an initial supporter of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and publicly endorsed President George W. Bush&#8217;s re-election campaign at the New York City-hosted Republican National Convention in 2004. Bloomberg is much more pro-Israel than most of his 2020 Democratic rivals: In 2014, when President Barack Obama oversaw a temporary <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/213288-obama-defends-israel-flight-ban">U.S. flight ban</a> to Israel amidst the jihadist rocket fire that rained down on the Jewish state that summer from the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-israel-must-destroy-hamas-once-and-all-josh-hammer">Hamas</a>-controlled Gaza Strip, Bloomberg personally <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2014-07-23/why-i-flew-to-israel">flew to Israel</a> solely to demonstrate to his fellow Americans that it was safe to do so. In September 2019, Bloomberg conducted an odd interview on the issue of China, in which he <a href="http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/12/michael-bloomberg-china-pbs-climate-xi-dictator.html">defended</a> Chinese Communist Party strongman Xi Jinping against charges that he is a &#8220;dictator.&#8221;
Abortion: Bloomberg is emphatically pro-abortion.
Guns: Bloomberg&#8217;s anti-gun advocacy is perhaps the single most defining issue of his recent private citizen activism — and perhaps the single most defining issue of his 2020 presidential bid. He is very closely affiliated with and has <a href="https://everytown.org/press/new-gun-violence-prevention-group-everytown-for-gun-safety-unites-mayors-moms-and-millions-of-americans-on-new-paths-to-victory-state-capitols-corporate-responsibility-voter-activation/">helped</a> <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/amberjamieson/bloomberg-gun-violence-moms-demand-action-volunteers">fund</a> Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action, which are both groups deeply hostile to Second Amendment rights. He also co-founded Mayors Against Illegal Guns while he was mayor of New York City. Bloomberg supports <a href="https://www.mikebloomberg.com/policies/gun-safety">“universal” background checks</a>, which often serve as a rhetorical euphemism for the government serving as an intermediary in all private firearms transfers. Bloomberg believes that every gun owner should need a permit before making a gun purchase. He <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/cory-booker-wants-a-ban-on-assault-weapons-and-yes-it-means-putting-gun-owners-in-jail" data-reader-unique-id="49">supports a ban</a> on the undefinable sub-class of firearms referred to as so-called “assault weapons” — a line of thought that, if taken to its logical conclusion, could <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/42837/hammer-kamala-harriss-flirtation-banning-all-semi-josh-hammer" data-reader-unique-id="50">lead to the banning of all semi-automatic firearms in America</a>.

Where Does Michael Bloomberg Stand On The Issues? Here’s Everything You Need To Know.

Abortion

Bloomberg News

Constitution

Democratic Party

Foreign Policy

Gun Buybacks

Gun Control

Gun Laws

On November 24, actress Jennifer Agostini and swimsuit model Prendinellys Garcia were allegedly attacked by a group of about 10–15 individuals after leaving a Manhattan bar, according to a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lawsuit-actress-model-beaten-by-10-15-attackers-f-those-white-bes">lawsuit</a> seeking to have the surveillance footage of the fight released.
The suit claimed the attackers made racial comments toward Agostini and Garcia during the beatdown, including: “white motherf***ers,” “dirty white b****es,” and “f*** those white b****es and their money.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Hoods attacked actress Jennifer Agostini, friends leaving Midtown bar: suit <a href="https://t.co/1OubUVPDNi">https://t.co/1OubUVPDNi</a> <a href="https://t.co/GQxS5eWG0u">pic.twitter.com/GQxS5eWG0u</a>
&mdash; New York Post (@nypost) <a href="https://twitter.com/nypost/status/1199466783834615810?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Sky Room, the Manhattan bar where the fight broke out, released footage of the attack in question earlier this week, as well as a statement claiming the brawl was &#8220;instigated&#8221; by Agostini and Garcia, <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/12/02/midtown-bar-blames-actress-jennifer-agostini-model-pal-for-wild-brawl/">The New York Post</a> reported.
<div id="ntv1040155-358556-4684" class="ntv-moap ntv1040155-358556-4684">
WATCH:
<iframe src="//players.brightcove.net/4137224153001/ed38fae1-4db1-4308-8095-399a04010bc1_default/index.html?videoId=6111094036001" width="618" height="348" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
&#8220;It is our opinion, Ms. Agostini had another agenda including seeking to spread as much blood on her face as possible for photos released to the media vs. seeking to care for her small injury at the lounge or from an ambulance our staff offered her,&#8221; Sky Room claimed in a statement, according to <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7747247/New-York-City-bar-says-drunk-friend-started-brawl-actress-43-claimed-attacked.html">The Daily Mail</a>.
The bar also alleged that there was no racial motive in the attack.
&#8220;We also find it outrageous and allegedly defamatory that Ms. Agostini and her party concocted a false narrative about an alleged &#8216;racial&#8217; fight with our customers and also allegedly lied saying our security staff pushed, beat or hit her,&#8221; the statement said. &#8220;Neither is true. In fact, race was never a factor of any altercation, but Ms. Garcia and Ms. Agostini&#8217;s own aggressive and harmful actions both verbally and physically are to blame.&#8221;
&#8220;We wish Ms. Garcia much luck with her alleged &#8216;swimsuit modeling&#8217; career and we also wish Ms. Agostini much luck with her &#8216;acting&#8217; career,&#8221; Sky Room mocked the women.
&#8220;According to a perfunctory internet search, neither Garcia and Agostini, in our opinion, seem to be a professional model or professional actor. We look forward to reviewing evidence of them getting paid enough for either one of their professional careers over the course of many years to make a livable wage doing so,&#8221; the bar continued.
&#8220;Sky Room is New York City&#8217;s highest rooftop party lounge,&#8221; concluded the bar. &#8220;We welcome customers of every race and ethnicity and seek to mirror the great NYC community in which we operate. We also welcome customers from around the world.&#8221;
In November, Agostini told the Post that it was &#8220;just this stampede as we were leaving. We just got rushed and assaulted by, I can’t tell you by how many people.”
“I was pushed onto the ground and eight individual jumped on top of me and brutally assaulted me. I have five stitches in my head. My whole eye is closed. I am going to have numerous scars on my face,” she said.
“I’m a lead character on the series in March,” added Agostini, “and I have to now go see numerous plastic surgeons, and I also have to go back to the concussion center to MRI my head.”
“I have a black eye,” Garcia told the New York outlet. “I have been having a lot of headaches. My whole entire body hurts. They were punching and kicking me on my body.”
“They were screaming, ‘These white b****es!’” the model added, noting that most of the attackers were black females. “I’m Puerto Rican, my girlfriends are white, my husband’s white, everybody else is white. It was crazy.”
</div>

Close-Up Cordon Tape

WATCH: Surveillance Video Of Alleged Anti-White Attack On Actress Released. Bar Claims Actress, Model Friend Sparked Brawl.

New York Post

Racism

Violence

Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) backed criminal activity in New York City on Saturday as she supported those who stormed a subway station and refused to pay the required fare to use the service.
&#8220;Close to a thousand anti-police protesters descended on Downtown Brooklyn Friday night, blocking traffic, vandalizing a city bus and shouting obscene insults at NYPD cops,&#8221; The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/11/01/anti-cop-protesters-in-brooklyn-blast-fare-evasion-crackdown/">reported</a>. &#8220;The demonstration formed soon after 7 p.m. on the streets near the Barclays Center, with protesters unfurling large banners that read &#8216;F—k the police&#8217; and &#8216;Don’t let these pigs touch us.'&#8221;
In a tweet, Ocasio-Cortez falsely claimed that the United States&#8217; criminal justice system was a &#8220;mass incarceration&#8221; system &#8220;that jails the poor to free the rich&#8221; – a claim that has no factual basis.
&#8220;Ending mass incarceration means challenging a system that jails the poor to free the rich,&#8221; Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. &#8220;Arresting people who can’t afford a $2.75 fare makes no one safer and destabilizes our community. New Yorkers know that, they’re not having it, and they’re standing up for each other.&#8221;
According to the <a href="http://web.mta.info/nyct/rules/rules.htm">Metropolitan Transportation Authority</a> (MTA), entering its facilities without payment is prohibited:
<blockquote>No person shall use or enter upon the facilities or conveyances of the Authority, for any purpose, without the payment of the fare or tender of other valid fare media used in accordance with any conditions and restrictions imposed by the Authority. For the purposes of this section, it shall be considered an entrance into a facility or conveyance whenever a person passes through a point at which a fare is required or collected. No person shall, for purposes of gaining entry into a facility, proceed over or under any turnstile or otherwise proceed in any other unauthorized manner through an exit gate or through or past any other point at which a fare is required or collected and it shall be no defense to a charge of a violation of this subdivision that fare media, a fare media sales device or a fare collection device was malfunctioning.</blockquote>
The MTA also outlines the penalties for not paying, which essentially amounts to theft. The penalties include criminal prosecution:
<blockquote>Pursuant to section 1204(5-a) of the Public Authorities Law, any person committing one or more violations of these rules shall be subject to either:
(a) criminal prosecution in the criminal court of the City of New York, which court may impose a fine not to exceed twenty-five dollars or a term of imprisonment for not longer than ten days, or both; or 
(b) civil penalties imposed by the transit adjudication bureau in an amount not to exceed one hundred dollars per violation (exclusive of interest or costs assessed thereon).</blockquote>
Ocasio-Cortez was in the news late this week after she came to the defense of former Rep. Katie Hill (D-CA), who resigned this week over a sex scandal that included lewd photographs or herself being leaked to the media and allegations that she had a relationship with a congressional staffer – something that is explicitly prohibited by House rules.
Ocasio-Cortez dishonestly suggested that Hill was forced to resign only over the photographs that were leaked because Hill was a woman, which is not true.
The House Ethics Committee announced an investigation into Hill over the allegations that she had a sexual relationship with a congressional staffer.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/aoc-misleads-on-hill-scandal-suggests-it-doesnt-happen-to-men-here-are-times-it-did">READ: AOC Misleads On Hill Scandal, Suggests It Doesn’t Happen To Men. Here Are Times It Did.</a>

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Ocasio-Cortez Endorses Criminal Activity In NYC While Making False Claim

President Donald Trump revealed on Thursday evening that his family will be moving from their longtime home base in New York City and changing their permanent residence to his home in Palm Beach, Florida.
&#8220;1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House, is the place I have come to love and will stay for, hopefully, another 5 years as we MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, but my family and I will be making Palm Beach, Florida, our Permanent Residence,&#8221; Trump wrote in a series of tweets.
&#8220;I cherish New York, and the people of New York, and always will, but unfortunately, despite the fact that I pay millions of dollars in city, state and local taxes each year, I have been treated very badly by the political leaders of both the city and state,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Few have been treated worse.&#8221;
&#8220;I hated having to make this decision, but in the end it will be best for all concerned,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;As President, I will always be there to help New York and the great people of New York. It will always have a special place in my heart!&#8221;
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&#8230;.New York, and always will, but unfortunately, despite the fact that I pay millions of dollars in city, state and local taxes each year, I have been treated very badly by the political leaders of both the city and state. Few have been treated worse. I hated having to make&#8230;.
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1190079192358105088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2019</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;
The president, who is a lifelong resident of New York, filed a &#8220;declaration of domicile,&#8221; in September, listing his primary residence as his Mar-a-Lago resort, according to documents filed with the Palm Beach Country Circuit Court. First Lady Melania Trump also submitted identical court filings.
Prior to the move, Trump&#8217;s permanent residence was 721 Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, more commonly referred to as Trump Tower, which he had called home since 1983. The court filings also list the president&#8217;s &#8220;other places of abode&#8221; as 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House&#8217;s address, and the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
The moves comes as Trump has been facing mounting scrutiny from both New York State Attorney General Letitia James and a Manhattan district attorney over his tax returns. Before she was even elected as attorney general, James vowed to target both the president and the Trump Organization, which many viewed as a political vendetta. However, it is not clear if the investigation has anything to do with the move.
Despite calling New York home, the president has been deeply unpopular in the increasingly blue state. During the 2016 presidential election cycle, Trump lost the state of New York to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by more than 20 points. Clinton also won New York County with more than 85 percent of the vote.
The president has often butted heads with many of New York&#8217;s far-left lawmakers, including New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, both progressive Democrats. The duo, who are often even critical of one another, celebrated the news of Trump&#8217;s departure from the state.
&#8220;Good riddance. It&#8217;s not like [Trump] paid taxes here anyway&#8230;,&#8221; Cuomo said in response to the announcement. &#8220;He&#8217;s all yours, Florida.&#8221;
&#8220;Don&#8217;t let the door hit you on the way out or whatever,&#8221; de Blasio said. He later added,&#8221;Our deepest condolences to the good people of Florida as Trump attempts to outrun his past (and near future).&#8221;

President Donald Trump And First Lady Melania Depart White House For Orlando Rally

President Trump Announces He&#8217;s Leaving New York

Florida

New York City’s top police official has warned that looming reforms intended to fundamentally transform the city’s jail system could endanger the well-being of people residing and working in the area.
NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill recently put the public on notice after the City Council overwhelmingly <a href="https://council.nyc.gov/data/closerikers/">voted</a> to close the notorious Rikers Island correctional complex by 2026 and replace it with four smaller community jails that, collectively, will hold fewer inmates.
“I’m really concerned going forward with the reduced capacity that we’ll be able to keep the city as safe as possible,” O’Neill cautioned in an <a href="https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/10/17/nypds-oneill-rikers-plan-is-going-to-put-new-yorkers-at-risk/">exclusive interview</a> with CBS2 New York.
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/nyregion/rikers-island-closing-vote.html">reports</a> that “the new facilities will be smaller than first anticipated with a combined daily capacity of about 3,300 people,” adding, the transition “will require reducing the jail population by more than half by 2026.” Opponents of the initiative are apprehensive that the changes might result in a shortage of available cells for future needs. Currently, the city’s jail system is the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/nyregion/rikers-island-closing-vote.html">second-largest</a> in the nation, housing approximately 7,000 inmates daily.
Officials based NYC’s “<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20191022003614/https:/rikers.cityofnewyork.us/">decarceration plan</a>” on a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/18/nyregion/nyc-news-rikers-island.html">declining crime rate</a> along with <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/484-19/projected-city-jail-population-falls-3-300-2026">criminal justice reform measures</a> crafted to keep people out of jail, such as a state law that kicks in next year that will <a href="https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/08/12/john-miller-bail-reform/">abolish cash bail</a> for most individuals charged with misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies.
“Come January 1, there are going to be very few people that are bail eligible, so you’re going to see people that have significant criminal histories, significant firearms histories, and they’re not going to be held in,” Commissioner O’Neill <a href="https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/10/17/nypds-oneill-rikers-plan-is-going-to-put-new-yorkers-at-risk/">continued</a>. “That’s going to put people at risk, put New Yorkers at risk, put victims at risk, and put witnesses at risk.”
Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio embraced the years-long effort to close the city jails on Rikers Island, which sits isolated in the East River between the Bronx and Queens. His administration <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/413-18/de-blasio-administration-plans-borough-based-jails-replace-facilities-rikers">unveiled plans</a> last year to replace the facilities with “modern, community-based jails throughout the City … designed to be integrated into surrounding neighborhoods.” Lawmakers approved the final proposal <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/10/18/new-york-rikers-island-voted-close/">36-13</a> on October 17, deciding to proceed with the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/nyregion/rikers-island-closing-vote.html">$8 billion transition project</a> and establish four new borough-based detention centers, one each in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx.
Official city websites that have <a href="https://rikers.cityofnewyork.us/">promoted the decarceration plan</a> said the new jails <a href="https://rikers.cityofnewyork.us/nyc-borough-based-jails/">would be</a> “built upon a foundation of dignity and respect,” and:
<blockquote>This borough-based system would strengthen connections to families, attorneys, courts, medical and mental health care, and faith and community-based organizations. Being closer to home and transit would enhance the network of support systems for people who are detained, and help prevent future returns to jail.
The new facilities would be designed to foster safety and wellbeing for both those incarcerated and for staff, providing space for quality education, health, and therapeutic programming. Modern facilities would also serve as a catalyst for positive change in the community and the criminal justice system.
We ask you to join us in reimagining these jails as civic assets that would provide a better life for those who are detained and work in them, support smoother transitions back home, and serve as resources for the community.</blockquote>
“Mass incarceration did not begin in New York City, but it will end here,” Mayor de Blasio <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/484-19/projected-city-jail-population-falls-3-300-2026">said </a>earlier this month. “With the lowest rate of incarceration of any major city, we are proving you don’t need to arrest your way to safety. New York is telling a different story, one where we can keep fathers at home and kids in schools and still be the safest big city in America.”
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/nyregion/rikers-island-closing-vote.html">reported</a> that de Blasio “secured perhaps his most progressive achievement so far as mayor,” noting he has two years remaining in office. However, The Times added: “To make the plan a reality, city officials must place their trust in future elected leaders to share the same vision and see it through on the same aggressive timeline.”
Follow Jeffrey Cawood on Twitter<a href="https://twitter.com/jeffreycawood">@JeffreyCawood</a>.

NYPD Announces Fate Of Cop Implicated In Chokehold Death Of Eric Garner

NYPD Commish Warns City’s ‘Decarceration Plan’ Could Put New Yorkers In Danger

Police

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