Democratic New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio defended his city amid a recent onslaught of anti-Semitic hate crimes, calling New York “the safest big city in America.”

Responding to criticism from former Republican New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, de Blasio called Giuliani “out of touch,” and said he was “very proud” of the job the New York Police Department (NYPD) has done in combating crime. (RELATED: Democrats Rush To Blame Trump For Anti-Semitic New York Attacks)

“Geoff, it’s striking how out of touch Rudy Giuliani is at this point,” the mayor told MSNBC’s Geoff Bennett. “The NYPD very, very consistently deals with quality of life crimes, hate crimes, the smaller things like graffiti for sure.”

There have been eight reportedly anti-Semitic attacks in New York this month. (RELATED: Democrats Rush To Blame Trump For Anti-Semitic New York Attacks)

“Look, this is the safest big city in America,” de Blasio said. “I’m very proud of what the NYPD has done.”

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De Blasio also defended his policies on policing and crime, arguing that it is more effective than Giuliani’s.

“If you’re gonna police communities effectively, you have to do it with the people we serve,” de Blasio said. “That’s what our police have done so much more effectively in recent years.”

New York City had its fewest homicides in 70 years in 2018, and is frequently ranked as one of the safest big cities in the world. However, the NYPD did report a spike in murder rates earlier this year, noting that the homicide rate increased by 28% during the months of September and early October. The murder rate as a whole was up over 8% in 2019, according to The Brooklyn Eagle.