Dear Voters of CD12,
Our Jewish neighbors are under attack—and New York City still has no legal definition of antisemitism. That must change.
The numbers are alarming. In 2024, Manhattan recorded 587 antisemitic incidents — a 37% increase from the year before — accounting for 57% of all hate crimes in New York City. Nationally, the FBI reported 1,938 antisemitic incidents in 2024, the highest total in over 30 years of tracking. And early 2026 data suggests things are getting worse, not better.
A legal definition of antisemitism is a practical, proven step forward. It gives law enforcement a clear standard for identifying and prosecuting hate crimes. It gives Jewish students stronger grounds to file civil rights complaints (Columbia University alone recorded more antisemitic incidents in 2024 than any other university in the country). And it sends an unambiguous message: Jewish New Yorkers belong here, and this city will protect them.
Mayor Eric Adams signed an executive order establishing the IHRA definition of antisemitism in 2025. On his first day in office, Mayor Zohran Mamdani repealed it. I believe that was the wrong call. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition — which recognizes antisemitism as rhetoric and physical acts of hatred toward Jewish people, including unfair attacks on Israel used to target Jews — is a necessary tool in addressing a real and growing threat.
When anti-Asian hate crimes surged during Covid, New York acted swiftly. Our Jewish community deserves the same urgency. The more than 300,000 Jewish New Yorkers who call Manhattan home are as much the soul of this city as anyone else.
As your representative in Congress, I will fight to ensure that protecting our Jewish community is never an afterthought — it is a priority.
With resolve,
Patrick Timmins
Candidate, New York’s 12th Congressional District
