The Department of Justice “will not relent in standing up for the Jewish community,” Kristen Clarke, U.S. assistant attorney general for civil rights, told more than 60 Orthodox Union lay and professional leaders last week.
“I want to be clear—hate is inexcusable and has no place in our country today,” Clarke said in her keynote address at OU headquarters in New York. “We must not and we will not tolerate it.”
The U.S. official addressed attendees of the Orthodox Union’s Board of Directors Strategy Summit.
The Justice Department has charged more than 120 people in more than 110 hate crime cases since January 2021, Clarke said.
“During that same period, we’ve obtained convictions against over 100 defendants,” she said. “That battle has taken on new urgency since October 7, and we’ve intensified our efforts to protect and stand by the Jewish community.
“Since January of 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice has charged more than 120 defendants in over 110 cases for committing hate crimes, and during that same period, we’ve obtained convictions against over 100 defendants. That battle has taken on new urgency since Oct. 7, and we’ve intensified our efforts to protect and stand by the Jewish community,” Clarke said.
Rabbi Moshe Hauer, executive vice president of the OU, said that the nonprofit has met on “numerous occasions” with Clarke since Oct. 7.
“She has made herself very accessible and has been unequivocal about her office’s prioritization of the issue,” he said. “We have always been able to be frank with her about our disappointments and our fears.
“Today, she came to hear the concerns of the OU leadership and shared with us measures the DOJ is taking to effectively put an end to this disturbing scourge,” he added.