Attorney General Barr Meets With Jewish Leaders In Brooklyn
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NEW YORK, NY (WCBS) — There was a show of support Tuesday for the Jewish community from Attorney General William Barr.
Barr met with leaders in Brooklyn in the morning for about two hours, CBS2’s Hazel Sanchez reported.
He sent out a strong message that the federal government will not tolerate anti-Semitic crimes, and that it is taking action.
“And I think it’s appropriate today, the day after the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the international Holocaust Remembrance Day, to really commit that this department, this administration, is going to have zero tolerance for this kind of violence. As I’ve said before, it strikes at the very core of what this country is about,” Barr said.
Speaking before a small group of selected guests at the Borough Park Jewish Community Council, Barr acknowledged growing concern over the rise of anti-Semitic crime.
From the recent attacks on Orthodox Jewish people in Brooklyn to the Chanukah stabbing at a rabbi’s home in upstate Monsey to the deadly shootout at a kosher grocery store in Jersey City, Barr said the Justice Department is working with the FBI to make sure anyone responsible for anti-Semitic crimes is brought to justice.
Barr said the federal government is pressing charges against the woman who slapped three Jewish people in Crown Heights in December, was arrested and released only to attack another Jewish woman the next day.
“But I think it’s important for the federal government to plant this flag and to show zero tolerance, and this will not be an isolated case. We will move aggressively when we see this kind of activity,” Barr said.
The attorney general also announced that he sent out a written directive to all the U.S. Attorneys to reach out to the Jewish communities, giving them a point of contact to report any hate crimes so they can be handled at the federal level if warranted.
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