Woman charged with hate crime amid NYC anti-Semitic attacks

NEW YORK (AP) - A woman accused of slapping three people in one of a series of apparently anti-Semitic attacks reported throughout New York during Hanukkah was charged Saturday with attempted assault as a hate crime, court records show.

Tiffany Harris, 30, was released without bail after her arraignment on the attempted assault charge and misdemeanor and lower-level charges , according to the records.

Her lawyer, Iris Ying, declined to comment, and the New York Post reported that Harris rebuffed questions as she left a Brooklyn court.

Police said Harris slapped three women, ages 22 to 31, in the face and head after encountering them on a corner in Brooklyn's Crown Heights area. The victims suffered minor pain, police said.

Around the city, police have gotten at least six reports this week - and eight since Dec. 13 - of attacks possibly propelled by anti-Jewish bias.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday that police presence would increase in Crown Heights and two other Brooklyn neighborhoods with large Jewish populations.