NYC Speaker Menin proposes 5-point plan to combat antisemitism

NEW YORK — New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin on Friday announced a legislative plan to combat antisemitism, as many Jews fret about community safety under Mayor Zohran Mamdani and hate crimes in the city disproportionately target Jews.

Menin is a Jewish moderate, the daughter and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, who became the City Council speaker earlier this month, a powerful position where she can serve as a counterweight to Mamdani. There is no evidence of tension between the two lawmakers so far and both have signaled a willingness to work together.

Menin, during a briefing at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Manhattan, said the antisemitism plan includes an educational initiative; a buffer zone around schools and houses of worship to prevent harassment; two security programs for schools and houses of worship; and a hotline to report antisemitic incidents that will collate data about patterns of antisemitism.

“Antisemitism is rising all around our city and around the country. It’s not merely impossible to ignore, it’s irresponsible for us, as a city council, to not address it head-on,” Menin said, while flanked by a bipartisan group of Jewish and non-Jewish City Council members.

“Combating antisemitism should not be just an ideological issue,” she said. “Everyone must come together to calm tensions, to bridge divides and recognize that we are one city, united, in the fight against antisemitism.”

Jews are targeted in hate crimes more than all other groups combined, according to NYPD data. Last year, Jews were targeted in 330 suspected hate crimes, out of 576 suspected bias incidents, amounting to 57% of the total, police said.

The proposed legislation will need to pass the 51-member City Council before going to Mamdani for approval. If the mayor signs the bill, it becomes a local law; if he vetoes the legislation, the council can override the veto with a two-thirds vote.

The education program proposed by Menin includes $1.25 million in funding, to be distributed over two years, to the Museum of Jewish Heritage, a Holocaust museum in Manhattan that hosts visits by school students. The proposal also calls on the City Council to introduce legislation that would require the Department of Education to educate students on how social media can contribute to antisemitism and other hatreds, according to a statement from the City Council.

Menin proposed a “Schools and Houses of Worship Access and Safety Act” that will establish a “safe perimeter” around the buildings’ entrances and exits. The law aims to prohibit harassment and intimidation in the buffer zone, while preserving First Amendment rights allowing for freedom of speech and assembly.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul proposed a similar statewide measure this week that would establish a 25-foot buffer zone around houses of worship, in response to recent protests outside synagogues. Those protests saw anti-Zionist activists harass Jewish passersby, shout antisemitic tropes and chant in support of Hamas. The pro-Hamas protest also took place outside a Jewish school, and a public school.

Menin has indicated she may seek a larger buffer zone than Hochul’s proposal, but her statement on Friday did not specify the perimeter’s size.

Anti-Zionist activists have publicly opposed Hochul’s proposal, calling it a threat to free speech, although the buffer zone would not halt protests, only prevent demonstrations adjacent to synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship. Protests rarely take place within 25 feet of synagogues.

Mamdani has not signaled whether he will support either legislative effort. A Mamdani spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on Menin’s proposal.

The two security measures proposed by Menin include a reimbursement program to help private schools install security cameras and funding for security training for Jewish organizations and other groups. Menin did not specify the amount of funding.

Lastly, Menin proposed a hotline to report antisemitic incidents housed in the city’s Commission on Human Rights. The commission will track the frequency of antisemitic incidents, the geographic patterns, and other trends, and report its findings to guide policy.

Leading Jewish groups, including the UJA-Federation of New York and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, applauded Menin’s proposal.

Menin, a Democrat representing part of the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island, is the City Council’s first Jewish speaker. Her mother and grandmother survived the Holocaust by hiding in Hungary.