US Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) standing at the US Capitol in February of 2023. Photo: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

US Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) on Thursday ripped into New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) for omitting any references to antisemitism during her annual “State of the State” address earlier this week.

“Antisemitic hate crimes have risen to historic highs in New York. Yet, when I search the governor’s State of the State for the word antisemitism, nothing came up — not one mention of antisemitism in a 140-page document,” Torres said in comments posted on X/Twitter. “Not one mention of antisemitism in an hour-long speech. The scandal is not that Kathy Hochul is failing to combat antisemitism. The scandal is that she is not even trying.”

On Tuesday, Hochul delivered the State of the State address, an annual speech in which the governor reflects on the previous year’s legislative progress and outlines their agenda for the upcoming year. Hochul’s hour-long speech primarily focused on increasing affordability for the Empire State’s residents, explaining her plans to ease the cost of child care, housing, and food. The governor also outlined plans to bolster public safety and lower taxes for the middle class. 

New York State has experienced a surge in antisemitism in the year following the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel, amid the ensuing war in Gaza.

Earlier this month, for example, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) released data showing that Jews were targeted in the majority of hate crimes perpetrated in New York City last year. Out of the 641 total hate crimes tallied by the NYPD, 345 targeted Jews, which, in addition to being a 7 percent increase over the previous year, amounted to 54 percent of all hate crimes in the city.

The explosion of hate continued a trend. In 2023, antisemitic incidents accounted for a striking 65 percent of all felony hate crimes in New York City, according to a report issued in August by New York state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The report added that throughout the state, nearly 44 percent of all recorded hate crime incidents and 88 percent of religious-based hate crimes targeted Jews.

Meanwhile, over the past 15 months, anti-Israel agitators have held raucous and sometimes violent demonstrations across New York, oftentimes physically confronting Jews and bellowing chants calling for the destruction of Israel. At prestigious universities such as New York University (NYU), Cornell University, and Columbia University, protesters have erected anti-Israel encampments and have called on their schools to financially divest from the Jewish state. 

Since entering the US Congress, Torres has positioned himself as a stalwart ally of Israel and fierce combatant against antisemitism. In recent months, Torres has sharpened his criticism of Hochul’s governance of New York, fueling rumors that he is considering launching a campaign to become the governor of New York.

Torres, whose district represents large swaths of the Bronx, has lambasted Hochul for allegedly being a political “insider” who lacks the fortitude to combat corruption within the Empire State. He has also called Hochul a “hypocrite” for switching her positions on gun rights and congestion pricing.

If Torres does launch a bid for governor, he stands on solid ground with Jewish voters. According to a Siena College Poll from December, the lawmaker enjoys a 41 percent approval rating with New York Jews, compared to a 8 percent disapproval rating.

Hochul’s office did not respond to a request for comment for this story.