Finger Lakes Today

The Senate Republican Conference announced the creation of an antisemitism working group in February 2023 to address the threat of antisemitism in New York State. On March 27, 2024, Senator Helming joined the working group as it released its antisemitism report and sent a letter to Governor Hochul and Legislative Majority Leaders recommending legislative action to combat the increase in antisemitic hate crimes and incidents in New York.

New York State, with the largest Jewish population in the U.S., is facing a rise in antisemitic incidents. In response to this concerning trend, the working group has put forth a series of legislative recommendations aimed at combating antisemitism.

According to the group, the five priority legislative recommendations are as follows:

1. S.3275: "places a definition of antisemitism within the state human rights law; provides that antisemitism that incites, causes or results in any act of violence, or injury to a person, or the damage to or destruction of real or personal property, shall be deemed to constitute a hate crime."

2. S.7752: "prohibits students from receiving TAP if engaging in antisemitic behavior."

3. S.7773: creates the “Dismantling Student Antisemitism (DSA) Act” which implements antisemitism awareness and prevention sensitivity training in colleges with consequence of loss of funding.

4. S.8625: enacts the “New York State Antisemitism Vandalism Act” which establishes the crime of vandalism of pro-Israel print and provides a class A misdemeanor for any individual who intentionally destroys, damages, removes any banner, poster, flyer or billboard which is located in a public space, where the intent or purpose of such banner, poster, flyer or billboard is to bring awareness for Israeli individuals who have been victims of a crime, or to positively support the country or citizens of Israel.

5. S.8774: expands the prohibition of harassing conduct involving Nazi symbols.

The working group's recommendations aim to address the growing concerns surrounding antisemitism and promote a safer environment for the Jewish community in New York.

For further details on the legislative priorities, the full list can be found in the letter sent to Governor Hochul and Legislative Majority Leaders.