Six NYC Council members reject establishment of 'End Jew Hatred Day'

NEW YORK – The New York City Council on Thursday voted to establish April 29 as an annual “End Jew Hatred Day.”  Four members abstained and two voted against the resolution.

Among those on the 51-member council who did not support the measure was Shahana Hanif, a representative of the heavily Jewish Brooklyn neighborhoods of Borough Park and Park Slope. 

“Your antisemitism is showing,” Inna Vernikov, the Jewish Ukrainian Republican Brooklyn councilwoman who introduced the bill, said to the six who rejected it. 

After the vote, Vernikov told The Jerusalem Post she felt "sick to my stomach." 

"As I was on speaking on the floor about the atrocities of the Holocaust, I was sick to my stomach listening to the explanations on the no votes and abstentions on a simple resolution asking to proclaim a day to End Jew Hatred," she told the Post.

"It is unacceptable and abhorrent for public officials duly elected to represent New Yorkers, many of whom are Jewish, to be against ending antisemitism."

Vernikov, who represents the 48th district, wrote on Twitter ahead of the vote: “Thanks to my colleagues on Cultural Affairs my resolution to proclaim April 29 as End Jew Hatred Day passed committee and will go to a full vote on the floor on Thursday. Let’s work together to end Jew hatred.”

She added that the proposed resolution comes amid skyrocketing rates of antisemitic violence against the city’s Jewish community and noted that an estimated 97 percent of antisemitic hate crimes occur against Hasidic and Orthodox Jews, whom she called “visibly Jewish.” Jews in New York City make up approximately 9 percent of the city's population, making the Jewish community the largest in the world outside of Israel.

Local leaders took to Twitter Friday to condemn those who did not support the resolution. 

New York Congressman Ritchie Torres wrote: "Antisemitism has a long and ugly history. It has seen a resurgence in NYC with a record # of hate crimes. How can anyone vote against a resolution to end Antisemitism?" 

Imam Ahmed Ali, a New York Police Department clergy member, congratulated Vernikov on passing the resolution and wrote: "We must remember that hate against anyone is hate against all of us." 

The campaign for “End Jew Hatred Day” is led by End Jew Hatred Movement, a grassroots nonprofit organization “centering on Jewish liberation from all forms oppression and discrimination,” according to its website. End Jew Hatred Day passed in legislatures in five cities and states across the country.

Who voted against 'End Jew Hatred Day' in New York?

Hanif, a Muslim Bangladeshi American freshman on the council voted against the measure and said criticism of that move is "extremely disrespectful." 

“I think it is extremely disrespectful to be called antisemitic on the floor based off of just one action when I continue to show up for our Jewish colleagues and communities,” said Hanif, who succeeded City Comptroller Brad Lander in the 39th District. 

“They have not stood up for Muslims. They have not stood up for [transgender] New Yorkers or anybody,” she said of the End Jew Hatred movement. 

Sandra Nurse, who represents Bushwick in northern Brooklyn, was the other "no" vote. 

In response to Hanif's claim, a spokesperson for End Jew Hatred told The Jerusalem Post: 

“The #EndJewHatred movement is disappointed, but not surprised, that there are some narrow-minded and illiberal representatives who choose to turn their backs to the requests of the minority Jewish community for equity and social justice. Their rejection of, and animosity towards, a day of empowerment for the Jewish people is truly appalling and dehumanizing. 

The Jewish people have been at the forefront of the civil rights and social justice movements, fighting for every minority and marginalized community. We have fought for so many other groups, and now, in the face of unprecedented levels of antisemitism, we are fighting for our rights - and asking for our allies to join us.

Our nonpartisan grassroots movement brings together people who identify on the left, right and center of the political spectrum - all of whom are willing to set aside their differences to fight for our civil rights. Mischaracterizing or trying to hijack our narrative is nothing more than an attempt to silence our voices, trivialize the trauma we endure as a minority community, and deny our lived experience. We reject this oppression and continue our fight to #EndJewHatred in our lifetime.”