Currently, New York State is considering a bill to make it a separate crime to hide one’s face for the purpose of menacing or threatening another. Agudath Israel strongly supports this bill.
Recently, there has been a resurgence of masked intimidation targeting Jewish communities. Hate groups have hidden behind masks to conceal their identities.
Masked harassment has been a crime in NY for over a hundred years to head off the actions of the KKK and others who sought to use anonymity to intimidate, provoke violence, and carry out acts of terrorism. It was temporarily lifted so as not to discourage mask wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic, but we have quickly witnessed how critical this law is.
If passed, it will serve as a deterrent and will allow law enforcement to hold perpetrators accountable.
Governor Hochul and many of our state legislators support this common sense bill.
However, powerful interests are lining up against it, and it is up to us to push back.
Agudath Israel has already made our position known, but we need you to contact your legislator today and ask them to support this bill.