A wave of high-profile crimes at the Jewish community in New York has caused alarm. But how is the community responding?  

There's been a rise in the number of hate crimes directed at Jewish targets around New York over the last two years.

New numbers released by state law enforcement officials show a 36 percent increase in hate crime incidents between 2017 and 2018.

The most common motivation for the 2017 incidents was due to anti-religious and predominantly anti-Jewish bias. The 232 anti-Semitic hate crime cases accounted for 42.8 percent of all incidents in 2017. In both 2017 and 2018, more than half of those anti-Semitic cases targeted property.

But with incidents like the stabbing of five people during a Hannukah celebration in Rockland County in the news, community leaders like Rob Kovach of the Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York say attendance at synagogues has not been affected. 

"I think that people feel safe," said Kovach, the group's president and CEO. "I think we do a nice job here of creating an environment where people do feel safe."

Kovach stressed to me that what's important is how groups representing other faiths are standing with Jewish community. 

"I think it's critical," he said. "And knowing that we don't stand alone, ever and others don't stand alone. We stand with them and they stand with us."

Governor Andrew Cuomo has called for strengthening domestic terrorism charges to cover hate crimes. He will detail those plans in his State of the State address on Wednesday.  

An interfaith vigil is being planned in Schenectady on Sunday at Congregation Gates of Heaven at 7 p.m.