When the New York City Council passed two bills giving the NYPD the authority to establish buffer zones around houses of worship and educational institutions to protect against unlawful harassment of people in or around the buildings, Agudath Israel of America made a strong push to get Mayor Mamdani to sign the bills.
The Mayor has now vetoed the school buffer bill, thereby stymying an important initiative designed to protect students, staff and others in school buildings against unlawful harassment. In the Jewish community especially, where troubling incidents of such harassment have become all too commonplace, the Mayor’s veto stings deeply.
This development is a setback, but we will not back down. Agudath Israel is working with city, state and federal officials to take tangible steps to protect our community from antisemitism. And while we do our shtadlonus advocacy, we are reminded once again that all is in the loving Hands of the one and only Shomer Yisroel, and that it is to Him that we must direct our most powerful shtadlonus tool: tefilla.