New York, NY, June 13, 2017 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today expressed deep concern over a series of attacks against a mosque in the Bronx community of Mott Haven, all apparent hate crimes and all part of a troubling trend of increasing intolerance toward New York’s Muslim community.

“It is disheartening that a single mosque in New York City would be selected for repeated acts of violence in the span of a week and a half,” said Evan R. Bernstein, ADL New York Regional Director. “This is not happening in a vacuum.  There’s been a troubling increase of incidents targeting New York’s Muslim community.  In order to reverse this trend, we need community leaders – from our elected officials to our religious partners – to be as outspoken as possible when such violence and bigotry rear their ugly heads.”

The Masjid Ebun Abass mosque was targeted on three separate occasions since the end of May, most recently last week. On May 30, a man was hit by pellets from a gun, which also struck the institution’s window. At least three additional pellets were shot at the mosque between June 8 and June 9.

The NYPD has tracked 19 anti-Muslim incidents so far in 2017, compared to 11 during the same period in 2016. ADL is working with the Bronx Muslim community to offer its support and communal security resources.

In a recent poll, ADL found for the first time that a majority of Americans (52 percent) say they are concerned about violence in the U.S. directed at Jews, and an even a higher percentage (76 percent) are concerned about violence directed at Muslims.