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Kathy Hochul considers banning masks on New York subway after anti-Semitic incidents

Theo

New York State Governor Kathy Hochul is considering a mask ban on New York State subways following a series of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel incidents in New York City, she announced at a press conference in Albany on Thursday evening.

During the public safety conference, Hochul mentioned two incidents that she described as hate crimes against Jewish New Yorkers. The first occurred on Monday night, when “a masked group occupied subway cars, terrified passengers and chanted things about Hitler and the extermination of Jews,” and another on Tuesday, when “the homes of several Brooklyn Museum board members were horribly vandalized.”

“We will not tolerate people using a mask to evade responsibility for criminal or threatening behavior,” Hochul said. “People should not be able to hide behind a mask on the subway and commit crimes.”

Hochul said her office is working on a solution to the mask issue and is consulting with New York Mayor Eric Adams and state lawmakers. She acknowledged it is a complex issue because there are many legitimate reasons to wear a mask.

Anti-Israel protesters challenge subway passengers

In Monday’s New York subway incident that went viral on social media, anti-Israel protesters told passengers: “Raise your hand if you’re a Zionist. This is your chance to get out of here.” When no one responded, one man said: “Okay, there are no Zionists here. We’re fine.”

The leader of Within Our Lifetime, Nerdeen Kiswani, calls for an intifada in front of the Hezbollah flag after his release from prison. (Source: SCREENSHOT/X)

Monday’s protests were part of a “day of rage” in New York City led by Within Our Lifetime, where flags of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine were waved outside an exhibit about the massacre at the Nova Music Festival. The subway incident occurred near Union Square, where protesters had gathered, and a “Long Live October 7” banner was unfurled.

Hochul mistakenly referred to an incident in Union Square in which a man said, “I wish Hitler was still here – he would have wiped you all out,” which New York Mayor Eric Adams also condemned in his statement against the series of protests, which he called “pure anti-Semitism.”

As part of the protests, Within Our Lifetime called on participants to “take creative action against the Brooklyn Museum and other cultural institutions that have previously been the target of actions attempting to get them to acknowledge an alleged genocide in Gaza and sever any possible financial ties to Israel.”

On Tuesday night, during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, the homes of Jewish Brooklyn Museum employees were daubed with fake blood and upside-down red triangles, which are used in terror propaganda to indicate that people or vehicles are being attacked with ammunition. The action was heavily criticized by New York politicians, including progressive politicians such as Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who were denounced by WOL as traitors and supporters of genocide.

“This is abhorrent and disgusting behavior,” Hochul said of the incidents on Thursday. “These heinous acts of anti-Semitism have no place in America, especially in New York State.”

The state police hate crimes task force is working with local police to investigate the incidents, Hochul said. She said she has also directed state police to increase patrols in sensitive locations such as community sites.

WOL director Nerdeen Kiswani denied Thursday that museum officials were targeted because they were Jewish, but said that since people had “legitimate grievances against the Brooklyn Museum,” they refused to issue a statement condemning an alleged genocide in Gaza. Kiswani also claimed that the NYPD brutalized her when she was removed from the museum lobby when she and her supporters attempted to occupy the site in May.

“To claim that this is anti-Semitism is stupid and cheap,” said Kiswani.

WOL released a statement on Wednesday defending its protest against the Nova exhibition, denying Hamas atrocities such as the rape and murder of children and calling the exhibition “Zionist propaganda and manufacturing of consent for genocide.”

“The Nova music festival was a rave party next to a concentration camp – 5 km from the wall that separates Gaza from the rest of Palestine,” WOL said. “We call on everyone everywhere to continue to organize against these institutions, especially those in New York City. We will not condemn October 7. We will not condemn the resistance forces of our people. We will not condemn the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising or the Tet Offensive, nor will we distance ourselves from the resistance fighters of the Haitian Revolution.”



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