Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on February 28, 2020

NEW YORK Days after bomb threats targeted 18 Jewish community centers across the state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo introduced legislation Thursday to combat hatred and intolerance of minority groups as part of his 2020-21 executive budget.

Cuomo announced the No Hate in our State campaign together with several leaders from the Jewish community during a news conference Thursday afternoon in New York City.

The rash of anti-Semitism that we have been experiencing ... it is a virus of hate that is spreading all across this country, Cuomo said. The Jewish community is such an integral part of New York, of our state ... New York would not be New York without the Jewish community.

The campaign includes a series of proposals in the state budget to combat hate, division and anti-Semitism with the nations first domestic terrorism law, investing $25 million for religious nonprofit organizations vulnerable to hate crimes, mandating a curriculum on diversity and tolerance for public school students, and investing $2 million to support the State Police Hate Crimes Task Force, according to a statement from the governors office.

Thursdays announcement comes on the heels of several recent anti-Semitic attacks across the state and nation. Dozens of Jewish community centers throughout the state received anonymous emailed bomb threats over the weekend, including the Albany Jewish Community Center on Whitehall Road.

Albanys JCC was evacuated for several hours Sunday while local and state police searched the property.

The state has seen 42 reported acts of anti-Semitism in the last two months, including a Dec. 28 stabbing at a rabbis home in Monsey during Hanukkah that wounded five people.

And its continuing, Cuomo said. We have swastikas popping up across this state. So, it is here the virus, the anger, the hatred and its spreading.

The state has increased the number of police resources to combat acts of hatred, Cuomo said, adding he promises New Yorkers its his administrations top priority to prosecute these crimes.

I want to make it clear that there is no tolerance for this activity on any level, Cuomo said. Its not just immoral, its not just wrong, its also illegal, and were going to pass additional legislation to make that position clear. We will enforce the law to the fullest extent.

National attacks on synagogues, Jewish organizations and communities have increased 34% since 2016, said Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League. The attacks include two deadly synagogue shootings in Poway, Calif., last April, and in Pittsburgh in 2018.

2019 was a particularly devastating year, Greenblatt said during Thursdays conference, adding 42 extremist-related murders took place in the nation last year. We tracked more than 300 anti-Semitic acts of harassment, vandalism and violence. ... The disease of intolerance is affecting all of us. Anti-Semitism is anti-American. Its not just a Jewish problem, its an American problem.

Incidents of racism and bigotry cannot be ignored and are not partisan, Greenblatt said, and are a rising concern in the 2020 presidential election.

Anti-Semitism is the canary in the coal mine, Greenblatt said. Dont be surprised when it spreads to Latinos, African Americans and other minority groups. ... We are concerned at the ADL about the rise of anti-Semitism in the political race. Anti-Semitism isnt an issue for the right or the left its an issue that exists across the board.

Part of the campaign that would require teaching diversity and Holocaust history in the state curriculum would reach more than 4,000 education programs, according to the governors office.

Combating hatred and intolerance of minority groups starts with educating the next generation, Jewish Community Relations Council President Cheryl Fishbein said.

In a recent study, 66% of millennials could not identify Auschwitz or what happened there, Fishbein said. Our efforts against Jew hatred must be sustained. ... We must bring together different groups to learn about diversity to learn about acceptance with one another ... and that education must continue outside the classroom.

That education is critical to teach people about their differences and celebrate them, Cuomo said.

Its almost instinctive that people fear their differences, Cuomo said. But the differences are actually special that we must understand and embrace, but thats a process of education. Yes, were different, but thats what makes us beautiful.

We have nothing but love and affection for the Jewish community, he added. We are going to do whatever we can to make that clear, and passing these laws is part of it.

The Tribune News Service contributed to this story.

Kate Lisa covers the state Capitol for Johnson Newspaper Corporation. Contact her by email at klisa@columbiagreenemedia.com or on Twitter @KaitlynnLisa

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Legislation would combat 'virus of hate' | Top Stories - NNY360

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