Alarmed by the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic and the continuing incidence of antisemitism during and since then, New York State Bar Association President Richard Lewis convened a Task Force on Combating Antisemitism and Anti-Asian Hate. We believe it is one of very few bar association efforts in the nation addressing the scourge of hate crimes.

Our mission has become even more urgent in the wake of Oct. 7, the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Since then, there has been an unprecedented surge of antisemitism across America and on college campuses, which threatens the safety and security of the Jewish people, especially in New York, which has the largest Jewish community outside of Israel. The gravity of the issue we are confronting was vividly illustrated by a recent shooting at an Albany synagogue.