NY governor pushes for buffer zone to protect synagogues from protests

NEW YORK — New York State Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday vowed new protections for synagogues this year, after two caustic protests outside New York City synagogues in recent months.

“In 2026, we’ll take new steps to protect our houses of worship against the rising tide of antisemitism and Islamophobia,” Hochul said in her annual State of the State speech in Albany, the state capital. “Just last week, protestors led pro-Hamas chants outside a synagogue in Kew Gardens Hills. That’s not free expression. That’s harassment, and targeting a Jewish community in this way is antisemitism.”

“That’s why I’m proposing a ban on protests within 25 feet of the property line at houses of worship — so those who simply want to pray can do so without fear or harassment.”

Hochul also highlighted the $131 million the state has provided to organizations at risk of hate crimes in recent years.

The law proposal comes after two protests that alarmed many New York City Jews.

In November, protesters gathered outside the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan to protest an event held by Nefesh B’nefesh, a group that facilitates Jewish immigration to Israel. The protest saw demonstrators harass Jewish passersby with discriminatory rhetoric and chant “death to the IDF” and in support of an intifada. A protest leader told the crowd, “We need to make them scared.”

Last week, protesters gathered near a synagogue in the Kew Gardens Hills neighborhood in Queens, an area with a large Orthodox population. The protesters chanted, “We support Hamas,” causing an uproar.

The demonstration took place next to a Jewish school and a public school and forced the cancellation of after-school activities due to safety concerns.

Both protests were organized by the hardline activist group Pal-Awda, which said the demonstrators were targeting “settlers.” Nefesh B’nefesh provides information for immigrants who want to move to settlements, but does not direct immigrants to West Bank communities. The Queens protest targeted an Israeli real estate event that included property in Ma’ale Adumim, a community that is adjacent to Jerusalem, but over the Green Line.

Hochul condemned the protests, sharing The Times of Israel reporting from the scene after both incidents.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a far-left anti-Zionist, also spoke out against the demonstrations, but his responses drew criticism. Following the Park East protest, he implied the synagogue had violated international law, and his statement on the Queens rally came out some 24 hours after the demonstration, and after other New York leaders had issued more forceful denunciations.

Hochul endorsed Mamdani’s mayoral campaign and Mamdani attended her State of the State speech.

During the Park East protest, the demonstrators gathered next to the synagogue’s entrance, so the proposed law would have moved them farther from congregants. The law would not have affected the Kew Gardens Hills protest, though, because the demonstration took place half a block away from the synagogue.

Sam Berger, a Jewish member of the New York Assembly representing Kew Gardens Hills, said on X after Hochul’s announcement, “Proximity was not the problem. We can do so much more.”

A State of the State policy book released by the governor’s office said, “These buffer zones will protect individuals from harassment and obstruction while preserving the right to lawful expression.”

New York legislation needs to pass the state Assembly and Senate before going to the governor for final approval.

The Jewish Community Relations Council of New York applauded Hochul’s announcement.

“As antisemitism continues to surge across New York, these incidents make painfully clear that when demonstrations target people at the doors of their religious institutions, they cross a red line into serious and immediate public-safety threats,” CEO Mark Treyger said in a statement.

Pal-Awda lashed out at Hochul, calling the proposal a “serious threat to New Yorkers’ First Amendment rights.”

Jews in New York City are targeted in hate crimes more than all other groups combined.

Synagogue security is a top concern and the Jewish community employs an array of security measures for synagogues and other Jewish institutions, from volunteer guards to monitoring threats online and coordinating with local law enforcement.

Fears for synagogues were brought to the fore again this week when a historical congregation in Mississippi was torched by an alleged antisemitic arsonist.

Hochul is supportive of the Jewish community and Israel.

She pushed for a law to crack down on masked crime that was a priority for Jewish groups and became law last year.