DATE: March 16, 2026
Agudath Israel strongly supports this legislation, which amends New York’s aggravated harassment statute to prohibit the display of a swastika on a billboard, aerial banner, or similar medium designed for uninvited public viewing.
The swastika is one of the most notorious symbols of hatred and antisemitism. As the emblem of Nazi Germany during the Holocaust, it became inseparably associated with the persecution and murder of six million Jews, and for the Jewish community the symbol continues to convey intimidation and hate while evoking the trauma of a time when it represented the systematic destruction of Jewish life across Europe.
In recent years, swastikas have increasingly appeared at protests and in public spaces through banners and other displays designed to force the symbol upon large numbers of people. These displays are often intended not as legitimate political expression, but as a means of provoking fear and intimidation and making members of the Jewish community feel unsafe or unwelcome in their own neighborhoods and communal spaces.
While the First Amendment protects freedom of speech, courts have long recognized that speech used as a form of intimidation may be regulated. In Virginia v. Black, the Supreme Court upheld laws prohibiting cross burning carried out with the intent to intimidate. Existing New York law already reflects this principle by prohibiting acts such as burning a cross in public view as a form of aggravated harassment. This legislation appropriately applies that same principle to the public display of a swastika in contexts intended for unavoidable public viewing.
For these reasons, we respectfully urge the passage of this legislation.
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