I can’t think of an easier bill to vote yes for. And yet… https://t.co/7RkDGcrB4l
— Bianna Golodryga (@biannagolodryga) April 28, 2023
On Thursday, Jewish members of the New York City Council were outraged that six of their colleagues did not vote in favor of a resolution recognizing April 29 as “End Jew Hatred Day.”
Two members voted against it, while four others abstained. Outrageously, one councilmember claimed later that she regretted abstaining, and did so because she did not have a chance to review the resolution.
The resolution, which passed overwhelmingly, was introduced by Inna Vernikov, a Jewish Brooklyn Republican, in response to a 52% increase in antisemitic incidents across the city, as reported by the ADL’s annual audit.
Vernikov was quoted as saying it was “sickening” to listen to the remarks of those who opposed the resolution, noting that she referenced the atrocities of the Holocaust in her introduction of the measure.
Bianna Golodryga, a CNN Global Affairs analyst, tweeted, “I can’t think of an easier bill to vote yes for.”
In a bizarre move, Councilmember Rita Joseph expressed regret for abstaining from the vote and called for zero tolerance towards antisemitism.
Joseph, who represents a sizable Jewish population in Kensington and Flatbush and chairs the education committee, on Friday tweeted: “I regretfully abstained from the vote on a resolution to End Jew Hatred yesterday during our Council Stated Meeting because I didn’t have a chance to review it.” She apologized for “the confusion,” noted her support for past resolutions that celebrated Jewish heritage, and called for “zero tolerance” for antisemitism.
State Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein blasted his own councilwoman Shahana Hanif, a Bangladeshi American freshman on the council who voted “no”.
“With all due respect @ShahanaFromBK, as a proud Orthodox Jew and a constituent of yours, I’m appalled by your NO vote on today’s @NYCCouncil resolution to #EndJewHatred,” he tweeted. “Does my Council member want Jew hatred to continue??”
Another member who voted against the resolution was Sandra Nurse, who represents Bushwick in northern Brooklyn.
“In this city, how could anyone deny that antisemitism has become a real problem?” said Councilman Kalman Yeger. “How is that possible that people are elected to this body from neighborhoods all across the city of New York and don’t have a grasp of what’s happening in this city; that hatred is real and it’s there?”
Charles Barron, who has associated with antisemitic hate groups, claimed that he abstained because of the “inconsistency” by Jewish leadership in speaking out against hatred.
He claimed that they do not speak out against “hatred of the Palestinian people, like the state of Israel murdering Palestinian women and children and stealing the land of people in Palestine”. He added that “leaders in the Jewish community even supported apartheid and racist South Africa and said nothing about African people dying.”
Other members who abstained included Alexa Aviles and Jennifer Gutiérrez who expressed concerns over the Jewish community’s leadership in addressing hatred against other groups, such as Palestinians and Africans.
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