New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is backing a proposal to restrict protests around houses of worship by creating buffer zones.
She plans to offer more details about the plan in her State of the State message next week, the Democratic governor said Tuesday.
Hochul is building on legislation introduced last month after a raucous protest outside the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan.
“I'll be announcing safety zones around houses of worship where people can go freely, to go to a safe place without threats of violence or protests,” Hochul said.
This is the second consecutive year that Hochul has pushed for a new law in response to public protest against Israel and Jews. The governor sought greater restrictions on wearing masks in public last year, but her proposal was pared back amid objections from civil libertarians.
The same concerns exist this year, legal experts say. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2014 struck down a Massachusetts law that created a 35-foot buffer around abortion clinics. The court has recently declined to revisit a 2000 ruling that allowed “bubble zones” around people entering clinics.
“I think it would face pretty serious judicial scrutiny and skepticism,” said Baher Azmy, legal director for the Center for Constitutional Rights, an advocacy group that has represented protesters. He was speaking generally because he hadn’t seen the specific language of Hochul’s proposal.
New York law already prohibits people from intimidating or blocking someone who seeks to enter a house of worship or an abortion clinic. During the November protest at the Park East Synagogue, dozens of people waved flags and held signs — one of which said “Israel has no right to exist” — behind metal barricades near the entrance.
The protest chants included “Death to the IDF,” a reference to the Israel Defense Forces. Protesters shouted at people entering to hear a presentation by Nefesh B’Nefesh, a group that facilitates moves from North America to Israel.
Assemblymember Nily Rozic, a Queens Democrat who was born in Israel, co-sponsored a bill that would create a 25-foot buffer zone around religious sites and places offering reproductive health services. She said the Park East protest was “the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
“What we have seen over the last two years is a resurgence in antisemitism that has not gone away,” she said. “If you have a problem with the Israeli government, you can go protest outside the Israeli consulate. If you lead a mob or try to do harm outside of an American synagogue, that's just hateful and problematic on many levels.”
Hochul’s spokesperson Kara Cumoletti declined to offer more details of what Hochul will propose.
Justin Harrison, a senior policy counsel at the New York Civil Liberties Union, said any law has to be narrowly tailored to pass muster.
“It’s entirely reasonable to have buffer zones outside of specific, sensitive locations with lengthy histories of misconduct — such as reproductive care clinics — but the law cannot restrict more public expression than is necessary,” he said. “Protecting the safety and access of houses of worship is paramount, and so is upholding Constitutionally-protected speech.”
Assemblymember Micah Lasher, an Upper West Side Democrat who wrote the existing bill, said he was glad Hochul is picking up the mantle.
”It dramatically increases the likelihood that it will be enacted into law, and I think her leadership reflects a broad understanding that safety around houses of worship is an issue that needs to be addressed,” he said.
Includes reporting by Ben Feurherd.
