On the Rising Tide of Threats and Violence

The New York City Bar Association is alarmed and appalled by the reported dramatic increase in antisemitic speech and acts, including harassment, threats and assault against Jewish people, along with escalated threats and hateful acts against Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim, since Hamas’s terrorist attack in Israel on October 7. As a bar association, our support of First Amendment rights goes without saying. At the same time, past events show all too clearly how heated rhetoric can lead to tragic violence. As it has in the past, the New York City Bar Association strongly condemns antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all hateful rhetoric and identity-based violence.