Last week’s New York City (NYC) Council vote on a resolution establishing April 29 as “End Jew Hatred Day” confirms that intersectional political investments targeting Israel have successfully integrated antisemitism into some corners of the Democratic Party.
On April 28, six NYC Democrat council members refused to support the “End Jewish Hatred Day” measure, sponsored by GOP lawmaker Inna Vernikov, which ended up passing with four abstentions in a 41 to two vote.
Those who voted “no” were Brooklyn council members Shahana Hanif (D), the first Muslim woman elected to the council, and Sandra Nurse (D), who represents the Bushwick section of the borough. Those who abstained include Charles Barron (D), Alexa Aviles (D), Rita Joseph (D), and Jennifer Gutierrez (D). Hanif, whose district contains portions of Borough Park and Park Slope, co-chairs the Progressive Caucus. The lawmakers rejecting last week’s effort against antisemitism are all members of the NYC Progressive Caucus.
In March, the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) 2022 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents found New York experiencing the highest levels of antisemitic events in the country. That six out of 43 Democrats who voted on the measure objected to fighting antisemitism — purportedly about issues related to Israel or out of partisan objections — highlights how the state’s party continues to lurch left as Jewish New Yorkers confront unprecedented danger.
Open expressions of antisemitism have, for years, been brewing within NYC’s Democratic Party. Some of its policies prompted councilman Ari Kagan to switch his political affiliation to the Republican Party last year, upping the number of GOP members on the 51-member body to six elected officials. This past summer, Emily Mayer, founder of the anti-Israel Jewish group IfNotNow, was chosen to head the NYC Council Progressive Caucus. Mayer was one of several activists arrested in 2016 for holding a “liberation seder” in the building housing the NYC ADL office. The young activist has invoked the antisemitic trope involving Jewish money. Mayer’s husband, Walid Shaheed, is a spokesman for the far-left political action group Justice Democrats.
While more than a dozen council members chose to leave the Progressive Caucus earlier this year over its egregious statement of principles, which contained a pledge to “defund the police,” the leftist body still contains a robust 21 members on its roster. The vote involving the “End Jew Hatred Day” resolution demonstrates that antisemitic political inroads are on the rise, reflecting a national trend.
Before assuming Federal office in 2019, Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives. Another reliable voice against Israel, Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), began her career as a Boston city councilwoman. At the same time, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who, in a tweet this week, accused the Israeli government of “ethnic cleansing” against the Palestinian people, started her political journey in the Michigan state legislature.
A rising star within Democrat Party circles, Michigan House Democrat and Majority Floor Leader Abraham Aiyash accused condemned Israel in 2021 for its “subhuman” treatment and “murder” of Palestinians. Aiyash’s troubling rhetoric mirrors Minneapolis City Councilman Jamal Osman (D)’s concerning social media posts from 2011 to 2013, including asking, “Where’s Hitler when You need him?” While Aiyash has since apologized for his behavior, both politicians join a growing list of state officials expressing antisemitic perspectives.
State legislators are likely emboldened by the actions of Congressional lawmakers, whose disturbing trend of attacking Jews results in minimal pushback. In Durham, North Carolina, the city council voted unanimously in 2018 to ban a US police exchange program with Israel. Years later, the state’s Democratic Party passed two of three anti-Israel resolutions presented at the 2022 state convention. And with the exception of Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-NY) — who, in the aftermath of the April 28 vote, appropriately asked, “How can anyone vote against a resolution to end antisemitism?” — the council members repudiating the “End Jew Hatred Day” legislation were met with virtual silence by New York’s Democratic leaders, reflecting another national trend. Indeed, within hours of Rep. Tlaib’s May 1 tweet disparaging Israel, US President Joe Biden was heaping praise on the lawmaker at a White House dinner, publicly remarking to both Tlaib and Rep. Omar that “God love you” and “you look beautiful tonight.”
The political synergy between Congressional members and state policymakers is propelling the professional trajectory of dangerous legislative figures. Last week’s NYC council vote exposes a fledgling vulnerability for Jewish Americans. Those committed to combating antisemitism must maintain an awareness of local political developments and cast principled stands against legislators who are setting an expanding, and increasingly antisemitic, national political stage.
Irit Tratt is a pro-Israel advocate residing in New York.
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