Going through a rising variety of antisemitic incidents in New York Metropolis, new Metropolis Council Speaker Julie Menin unveiled on Friday a plan to fight antisemitism, together with schooling, safety and funding.
The primary Jewish speaker within the metropolis’s historical past, Menin got here to the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Dwelling Memorial to the Holocaust on Jan. 16 to clarify the five-point plan, which incorporates funds for Holocaust schooling, help for personal college safety, laws to handle discriminatory misinformation, offering a protected zone round homes of worship, and monitoring antisemitic incidents.
The plan consists of laws such because the Homes of Worship Entry and Security Act, Non-public Faculty Safety and Infrastructure Reimbursement Program, Antisemitism Incident Reporting and Knowledge Act and community-based safety coaching
For Menin, the mission is private. Her mom and grandmother each survived the Holocaust, and she or he believes it will be important for all New Yorkers to confront and reject hatred wherever it arises.
“No one is in a position too high or too low to fight hate,” Menin mentioned. “This is a duty that belongs to all of us, not just people in elected office. Everyone must come together to calm tensions, to bridge divides.”
Antisemitism has grown throughout New York Metropolis within the greater than two years for the reason that Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist assaults by Hamas in Israel. The Anti-Defamation League reported final yr that New York state had essentially the most acts of hatred towards Jewish folks in the whole United States in 2024. The NYPD continues to report a staggering variety of antisemitic hate crimes reported throughout town for the reason that occasions of Oct. 7, 2023.
“Antisemitism is rising all around our city and our country,” Menin advised the group of round 100 assembled on the Museum of Jewish Heritage on Friday. “New Yorkers should never be fearful to practice their faith, no matter what their faith us. They should always have confidence and pride in their identities.”
Eric Donowitz, chair of the Council’s Jewish Caucus and Training Committee, mentioned “rhetoric is not enough,” however coverage should comply with.
“This is a real crisis in the Jewish community,” he mentioned. “Not only are antisemitic incidents increasing. It is more than that.”
Menin mentioned Jews make up 10% of the New York Metropolis inhabitants, however have been victims of over 60% of reported hate crimes final yr, which she referred to as a “cruel reality we must confront head on.”
Council Member Yusef Salaam, chair of the Committee to Fight Hate, mentioned this plan “meets this moment with the seriousness it deserves” with “courage, with clarity and unwavering commitment to dignity.”Picture by Claude Solnik
Council Member Yusef Salaam, chair of the Committee to Fight Hate, mentioned this plan “meets this moment with the seriousness it deserves” with “courage, with clarity and unwavering commitment to dignity.”
“We are here because the rise in antisemitism is, in fact, very real. It’s alarming, and it demands actions, not just words,” he mentioned. “It targets people not for what they’ve done, but for what they are.”
A deal with educating kids about antisemitism
Menin mentioned the Council will allocate $1.25 million over two fiscal years to the Museum of Jewish Heritage, together with $250,000 via the tip of fiscal 2026 and $1 million in fiscal 2027. The funding could be earmarked for digital Holocaust schooling, expanded college outreach, and broader entry for college students citywide.
The speaker mentioned this program would construct on a program launched one and a half years in the past that brings eighth-grade public college college students to the museum to go to its Holocaust exhibition.
“Each of those students had the chance to confront the reality of antisemitism, as well as tolerance,” Joshua Mack, a museum spokesman, added. “Remembrance must lead to responsibility.”
Antisemitism, numerous folks mentioned, is catching on amongst younger folks, fueled by social media, the place the germ of hatred can develop right into a virus.
“There are beatings and screaming at children, scaring them, when they go to school or synagogue,” mentioned Rabbi David Niederman, head of the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg and North Brooklyn. “There are incidents.”
He mentioned kids are stealing fur hats worn by some Orthodox Jews on the Sabbath. “They’re grabbing it and running away with it,” Rabbi Niederman mentioned.
Dinowitz talked a few Jewish pupil who didn’t wish to put on a yarmulke in school, out of worry of harassment, Jews afraid to worship with out seeing police vehicles and volunteers exterior Jewish faculties carrying bulletproof vests.
Menin mentioned statistics point out 34% of younger folks consider the Holocaust didn’t happen or is exaggerated.
“Exposing people to the truth, that is what we are trying to do,” Menin mentioned. “The Holocaust cannot simply be taught from a textbook or learned about in a lecture in school. To properly grasp the lessons of the past, we need a visceral experience.”
The Council, Menin mentioned, will introduce laws to require the Division of Training to distribute supplies to college students relating to methods social media can contribute to antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all types of hate.
Menin mentioned the Faculties and Homes of Worship Entry and Security Act would search to ascertain a protected perimeter round entrances and exits of colleges and homes of worship, “prohibiting harassment and intimidation, while ensuring the right to peaceful protest is retained.”
One other a part of the bundle, the Non-public Faculty Safety Infrastructure Reimbursement Program, would set up a needs-based reimbursement initiative to assist non-public faculties set up safety digicam methods, prioritizing establishments with restricted sources.
The Antisemitism Incident Reporting and Knowledge Act would create a devoted hotline for antisemitic incidents housed within the New York Metropolis Fee of Human Rights.
“We’ll be able to get data to inform the work we need to do, with the commission tasked with tracking incidents, geographic data and trends,” Menin mentioned.
