New York City Council speaker takes aim at antisemitism with 5-point plan
Newly appointed New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin is taking aim at antisemitism, announcing a five-point plan to combat hate crimes against Jewish New Yorkers.
Menin is the first Jewish speaker of the City Council, and it's notable that antisemitism is the first issue she's tackling, but the big question is whether Mayor Zohran Mamdani will sign the bills she proposed.
What City Council Speaker Menin is proposing
Menin announced the plan Friday, surrounded by several members of her leadership team – some Jewish, some not.
The most dramatic proposal is a plan to establish a buffer zone around houses of worship to protect congregants from protesters, like those who protested around the Park East Synagogue and another protest at a Queens synagogue that involved Hamas supporters.
Menin also announced a new commitment of $1.25 million over two years to the Museum of Jewish Heritage, a memorial to the Holocaust.
The council proposals also include:
- An antisemitism reporting hot line
- Funding for security at private schools
- Community-based security training for Jewish organizations
CBS News New York reached out to Mamdani's office for comment about the legislation, but has not yet heard back.
While the mayor has said he wants to protect members of the Jewish community, he has also raised concerns in that community about his support for economic sanctions against Israel and refusal to support Israel as a Jewish state.
Rising antisemitic crimes "a cruel reality that we must confront"
"I want to first of all say that antisemitism is rising all around our city and around the country," she said. "It's not merely impossible to ignore, it's irresponsible for us as a City Council to not address it head on."
She pointed out that the NYPD's hate crime statistics show that antisemitic incidents accounted for nearly 60% of all hate crimes in New York City in 2025.
"That statistic presents a cruel reality that we must confront head on," she said.
"Strengthening protections for houses of worship and religious institutions is not about privilege [for] one community over the other," New York City Council Member Yusef Salaam said. "It is about affirming a basic truth that no one should fear gathering to pray, learn or remembering their history. Safety is a precondition for our freedom."
Afaf Nasher, executive director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told CBS News New York she supports combating antisemitism, but she believes the council should be fighting all types of hate crimes equally.
"I don't know about you, Marcia, but I've never learned about the genocide in Bosnia. I've never learned about the genocide in Palestine. I've never learned about the genocide in Rwanda," Nasher said. "So we want to see that kind of funding and investment towards all communities and not specifically one faith group."