By DEBRA NUSSBAUM COHEN
JNS
In her annual State of the State speech on Tuesday, Jan., 13, in Albany, Gov. Kathy Hochul called out anti-Semitism and announced that she is proposing a new law to ban demonstrations within 25 feet of a house of worship.
The buffer zones will start at the property line of synagogues, churches, mosques and temples, “so those who simply want to pray can do so without fear or harassment,” she said.
“In 2026, we’ll take new steps to protect our houses of worship against the rising tide of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia,” she said. “New York has already invested $131 million to better secure these sacred places, but clearly, more must be done.”
The prior week, the governor noted, “protestors led pro-Hamas chants outside a synagogue in Kew Gardens Hills.” “That’s not free expression. That’s harassment,” she said. “Targeting a Jewish community in this way is anti-Semitism.”
Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, told JNS that the announced buffer zones are an “urgent and necessary response to the intimidation and threats we witnessed at Park East Synagogue and in Kew Gardens Hills.”
Anti-Israel demonstrators protested outside the Upper East Side congregation on Nov. 19 and the one outside the Queens synagogue on Jan. 8.
“As anti-Semitism 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,” Treyger said.
“No one should ever have to fear for their life entering or leaving their house of worship,” he added. “We are standing up for the safety of our neighbors and for our ironclad values as New Yorkers and as Americans.”
