NY Jewish groups, allies launch ad campaign for anti-masking legislation

A coalition of Jewish groups and allies in New York announces a statewide ad campaign to build support for legislation that would ban masking in some circumstances.

The legislation is a priority for some Jewish groups, legislators and voters, who say masking hinders the prosecution of antisemitic assailants. The bill’s opponents argue it would hamper free expression by forcing protesters to show their identities.

The support campaign, called “UnMaskHateNY,” says it will air ads across New York State, including in New York City, Westchester and Nassau counties, and Buffalo. The ad campaign costs “six figures,” the campaign says.

The ads are meant to build support for the bill ahead of the upcoming state legislative session. Lawmakers said over the summer that they planned to pass the bill by the end of the year.

“Individuals are using masks and head coverings to escape accountability and little has changed as innocent civilians are targeted and menaced,” the group says in a statement. “To raise awareness and show tense New Yorkers that help is on the way, the group will be on the airwaves in the weeks before session.”

The campaign is led by Jewish and Black advocacy organizations including the Anti-Defamation League.

New York’s longstanding ban on public masking was repealed during the Covid pandemic.

Nassau County on Long Island passed an anti-masking bill introduced by an Israeli American legislator earlier this year.