Fighting hate: Speaker Menin rolls out a plan to combat antisemitism with a primary focus on educating young New Yorkers

Facing a growing number of antisemitic incidents in New York City, new City Council Speaker Julie Menin unveiled on Friday a plan to combat antisemitism, including education, security and funding.

The first Jewish speaker in the city’s history, Menin came to the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust on Jan. 16 to explain the five-point plan, which includes funds for Holocaust education, support for private school security, legislation to address discriminatory misinformation, providing a safe zone around houses of worship, and tracking antisemitic incidents.

The plan includes legislation such as the Houses of Worship Access and Safety Act, Private School Security and Infrastructure Reimbursement Program, Antisemitism Incident Reporting and Data Act and community-based security training

For Menin, the mission is personal. Her mother and grandmother both survived the Holocaust, and she believes it is important for all New Yorkers to confront and reject hatred wherever it arises.

“No one is in a position too high or too low to fight hate,” Menin said. “This is a duty that belongs to all of us, not just people in elected office. Everyone must come together to calm tensions, to bridge divides.”

Antisemitism has grown across New York City in the more than two years since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks by Hamas in Israel. The Anti-Defamation League reported last year that New York state had the most acts of hatred against Jewish people in the entire United States in 2024. The NYPD continues to report a staggering number of antisemitic hate crimes reported across the city since the events of Oct. 7, 2023.

“Antisemitism is rising all around our city and our country,” Menin told the crowd of around 100 assembled at the Museum of Jewish Heritage on Friday. “New Yorkers should never be fearful to practice their faith, no matter what their faith us. They should always have confidence and pride in their identities.”

Eric Donowitz, chair of the Council’s Jewish Caucus and Education Committee, said “rhetoric is not enough,” but policy must follow.

“This is a real crisis in the Jewish community,” he said. “Not only are antisemitic incidents increasing. It is more than that.”

Menin said Jews make up 10% of the New York City population, but were victims of over 60% of reported hate crimes last year, which she called a “cruel reality we must confront head on.”

Council Member Yusef Salaam, chair of the Committee to Combat Hate, said this plan “meets this moment with the seriousness it deserves” with “courage, with clarity and unwavering commitment to dignity.”Photo by Claude Solnik

Council Member Yusef Salaam, chair of the Committee to Combat Hate, said this plan “meets this moment with the seriousness it deserves” with “courage, with clarity and unwavering commitment to dignity.”

“We are here because the rise in antisemitism is, in fact, very real. It’s alarming, and it demands actions, not just words,” he said. “It targets people not for what they’ve done, but for what they are.”

A focus on educating children about antisemitism

Menin said the Council will allocate $1.25 million over two fiscal years to the Museum of Jewish Heritage, including $250,000 through the end of fiscal 2026 and $1 million in fiscal 2027. The funding would be earmarked for virtual Holocaust education, expanded school outreach, and broader access for students citywide.

The speaker said this program would build on a program launched one and a half years ago that brings eighth-grade public school students to the museum to visit its Holocaust exhibition.

“Each of those students had the chance to confront the reality of antisemitism, as well as tolerance,” Joshua Mack, a museum spokesman, added. “Remembrance must lead to responsibility.”

Antisemitism, various people said, is catching on among young people, fueled by social media, where the germ of hatred can develop into a virus.

“There are beatings and screaming at children, scaring them, when they go to school or synagogue,” said Rabbi David Niederman, head of the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg and North Brooklyn. “There are incidents.”

He said children are stealing fur hats worn by some Orthodox Jews on the Sabbath. “They’re grabbing it and running away with it,” Rabbi Niederman said.

Dinowitz talked about a Jewish student who didn’t want to wear a yarmulke in college, out of fear of harassment, Jews afraid to worship without seeing police cars and volunteers outside Jewish schools wearing bulletproof vests.

Menin said statistics indicate 34% of young people believe the Holocaust didn’t occur or is exaggerated.

“Exposing people to the truth, that is what we are trying to do,” Menin said. “The Holocaust cannot simply be taught from a textbook or learned about in a lecture in school. To properly grasp the lessons of the past, we need a visceral experience.”

The Council, Menin said, will introduce legislation to require the Department of Education to distribute materials to students regarding ways social media can contribute to antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of hate.

Menin said the Schools and Houses of Worship Access and Safety Act would seek to establish a safe perimeter around entrances and exits of schools and houses of worship, “prohibiting harassment and intimidation, while ensuring the right to peaceful protest is retained.”

Another part of the package, the Private School Security Infrastructure Reimbursement Program, would establish a needs-based reimbursement initiative to help private schools install security camera systems, prioritizing institutions with limited resources.

The Antisemitism Incident Reporting and Data Act would create a dedicated hotline for antisemitic incidents housed in the New York City Commission of Human Rights.

“We’ll be able to get data to inform the work we need to do, with the commission tasked with tracking incidents, geographic data and trends,” Menin said.