On May 4, 2024, members of the New York State Senate Republican Conference Antisemitism Working Group gathered outside Columbia University’s police-barricaded gates. They held a news conference to urge their Democratic colleagues to progress with a legislative package designed to address and combat antisemitism. The Republicans had unveiled this package over a month prior.
The plea for the Senate’s Democratic majority leaders to hold hearings on these legislative items and bring the bills to the floor comes at a crucial time. With only 18 working days left in the legislative session, there is a sense of urgency surrounding these measures.
Several actions proposed in the legislation include defining antisemitism within state human rights law, enacting the “New York State Antisemitism Vandalism Act,” and creating the “Dismantling Student Antisemitism Act.” The latter would implement antisemitism awareness and prevention sensitivity training for colleges, with funding loss as a potential consequence.
“This antisemitism taskforce was set up well before the horrific events of October 7. But those events of October 7 only crystallized the need not only for the task force but the analysis,” Senator Jack Martins, who chairs the working group, told reporters.
According to Senator Steve Rhodes, any institution that allows antisemitic activities on their campuses should not receive funding from New York State. He further stated that accountability for dangerous conduct has been lacking in New York and “that stops now.”
Senator Bill Weber introduced a bill that would withhold tuition assistance for students involved in antisemitic activities. He believes that if these bills are examined “thoughtfully, independently and without any prejudice,” they would garner bipartisan support and pass.
However, despite these calls for action, the working group has yet to hear a response from majority leaders—a silence Weber attributes to fear of their party’s progressive wing.
