The next leader of New York City’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes will be Vijah Ramjattan, a Hindu spiritual leader and progressive activist who has taken action to condemn antisemitism, Mayor Eric Adams announced Friday.
The office, founded in 2019 amid a spike in antisemitism, is overseen by the mayor and, true to its name, is charged with stemming hate across the city. It was initially led by Deborah Lauter, a former executive at the Anti-Defamation League, whose efforts included education against antisemitism in part through encouraging student tours of the Museum of Jewish Heritage, New York’s Holocaust museum.
Lauter’s successor, Hassan Naveed, led the office for a year and a half until Adams fired him last April amid a surge in hate crimes following Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion of Israel, which launched the war in Gaza. “People have to live up to what they’re hired to do. Taxpayers deserve that,” Adams said of the firing, which was protested by a range of Muslim and progressive groups, including Jewish ones, and elected officials.
Ramjattan has experience working as a mental health counselor in city facilities, including at Rikers Island. He is also the first Hindu spiritual leader to participate in the city’s municipal hospital chaplaincy program. He founded the United Madrassi Association, a communal volunteering and social service organization based in Queens, and is an advisory board member of Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus.
Last January, he presented a resolution against antisemitism to Community Education Council 28 in Queens, where he served as president, condemning the Oct. 7 attack as well as a raucous anti-Israel protest at the borough’s Hillcrest High School the following month. The resolution passed.
This past October, he posted a reel of photos showing him celebrating the Jewish fall festival of Sukkot to Facebook, writing that he wants to “build bridges not barriers amongst us all.”
Adams called Ramjattan “uniquely qualified to hit the ground running and combat hate crimes across the five boroughs.” Ramjattan said in a statement, “Hate and bias have no place in New York City and I’m proud to join the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice under Director Logan’s leadership. I look forward to leading the OPHC team in supporting safe and hate-free communities.”
The New York Jewish Week brings you the stories behind the headlines, keeping you connected to Jewish life in New York. Help sustain the reporting you trust by donating today.
