Eleven Jewish groups issued a statement on Friday morning saying that they are “deeply disappointed” with New York City Zohran Mamdani’s decision to veto a bill, which narrowly passed the New York City Council and which would have created a buffer zone around schools in which protesters could not obstruct foot traffic.
“We are deeply disappointed by Mayor Mamdani’s decision to veto Intro 175, legislation that would have required clear, coordinated safety plans around schools and learning institutions,” the UJA-Federation of New York, Anti-Defamation League New York/New Jersey, American Jewish Committee New York, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, JCRC-NY, New York Board of Rabbis, Orthodox Union, Rabbinical Assembly, StandWithUs, Teach NYS and Union for Reform Judaism said in an unusual joint statement.
“At a time when Jewish and other communities across our city are facing heightened threats, this legislation represented a crucial step toward ensuring that every school and community institution can be better protected,” the groups said. “Measures like these importantly safeguard institutions against real and growing threats while maintaining people’s right to protest.”
“Actions speak louder than words,” they added. “This veto is a profound failure of City Hall to demonstrate to all New Yorkers that our safety is a priority.”
The groups thanked Julie Menin, the first Jewish speaker of the council, and council member Eric Dinowitz, a member of the council and co-chair of its bipartisan task force on Jew-hatred, for their “leadership and unwavering commitment to the safety of New Yorkers.”
Daniel S. Mariaschin, CEO of B’nai B’rith International, told JNS that “it is an outrage that a request to protect Jewish schoolchildren—in the city of New York, of all places—would receive a cold shoulder from the mayor and his inner circle.”
“The mayor is taking his animus toward Israel and its supporters to a new low in now rejecting measures to ensure the safety of our young people,” Mariaschin said.
Morton Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America, told JNS that the veto is “further proof that Mamdani is a heartless, Jew-hating Israel-hater, who doesn’t care about the safety of his New York City constituents if they’re Jewish.”
“This is further proof that Mamdani actually supports Jews being harmed or attacked, as his previous repeated refusal to condemn people screaming ‘Globalize the intifada,’ meaning kill the Jews, clearly showed,” Klein said. “In a time of surging Jew-hating, Israel-bashing, Mamdani is truly frightening.”
