(NewsInsights.org) – President Joe Biden addressed the nation on October 20 regarding Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack on Israel, which killed more than 1,400 people, including US citizens. The commander-in-chief stressed that Americans couldn’t “stand by and stand silent” as a wave of antisemitic and Islamaphobic sentiment tried to wash through the nation. Now, New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) has announced she’s bolstering her state’s joint terrorism task force participation to battle against hatred and foster safety.
On Monday, November 13, Hochul provided an additional $2.5 million to the New York State Police to add 10 new staff members to its Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) operated in concert with the FBI. Although the governor already deployed State Police to at-risk communities on October 7, she said, “Surging resources to the [JTTF] is a critical step” in ensuring constituents’ protection from international or domestic threats.
The governor’s office pointed out that increasing JTTF personnel would allow faster and more thorough investigation of incidents, which spiked by 124% in October. The increase also strengthens partnerships between the task force and the counter-terrorism arm of the New York State Intelligence Center, which monitors violent extremism among domestic political groups, racially motivated groups, and anti-government and anti-authority groups.
Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado (D) noted that New York remains “one of the most diverse places in the world” and “violence and extremism have no place here.” He promised state leaders would remain “committed to driving out hatred and discrimination from our state.”
In October, a Cornell student, identified as Patrick Dai, 21, allegedly made anonymous online threats to shoot and stab Jewish students on the campus and encouraged violent acts against them by others. The FBI and JTTF quickly identified and arrested the alleged poster in the case.
In addition to the 30 or so incidents of antisemitic hate crimes reported to the New York City police as of October 24, police had also received four reports of anti-Palestinian incidents.
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