For Immediate Release: February 9, 2026
Press Contact: Sophie Ellman-Golan | sophie@jfrej.org |
Jewish Organizations Urge City Council to Reject Anti-Democratic Buffer Zone Bills Restricting Protest Outside Houses of Worship, Educational Facilities
Jewish New Yorkers warn that Council Speaker Menin and Council Member Dinowitz’s proposed legislation threatens to erode free speech protections in New York City at a time when the federal government is waging war on the First Amendment.
New York, NY – In response to Intros 0001 and 0175 proposed by Council Speaker Julie Menin and Council Member Eric Dinowitz, Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ), the American Council for Judaism (ACJ), Jewish Voice for Peace - New York City (JVP-NYC), and IfNotNow NYC released the following joint statement:
“We come together as Jewish organizations that care deeply about Jewish safety. Collectively, our organizations represent tens of thousands of Jewish New Yorkers who are opposed to and gravely concerned about proposed city legislation to create a “buffer zone” around places of worship and educational facilities (Intros 0001 and 0175).
Strong, pluralistic democracy creates the best conditions for the safety of all marginalized groups, including Jews. Legislation that restricts protest undermines the open society we cherish here in New York City, which has allowed Jews to thrive for centuries. These proposed bills will restrict New Yorkers’ right to assembly and free speech at exactly the same time that the federal government is waging war on our cities, particularly targeting protestors and legal observers.
These bills emerged in response to two different protests outside NYC synagogues as they were hosting highly controversial and non-religious political events — at least one of which encouraged the illegal sale of Palestinian land, in violation of international law. As Jewish organizations, we know the image of people protesting outside a synagogue can spark discomfort and even real fear, and we strongly believe that people should be able to pray and observe religious holidays without fear of harassment. But when houses of worship host non-religious political events, they are making a choice with the knowledge that they might be protested for doing so.
The right to protest in this country is sacrosanct and must be protected. It is especially irresponsible to offer an authoritarian government still more tools that can be used to criminalize protest. We need look no further than the Trump Administration’s use of the FACE Act to prosecute journalists, activists, and individuals exercising their First Amendment rights to see the way such policy is being weaponized.
We take no reassurance in the bills’ stipulation that enactment will be at the discretion of the NYPD, an institution that has repeatedly shown itself to be hostile to individuals and groups exercising their First Amendment rights in our city. The NYPD has illegally surveilled Muslim New Yorkers, illegally kettled protestors, and illegally engaged in racial profiling. New Yorkers cannot feel confident that the NYPD will wield discretion responsibly or fairly.
We need city and state governments to strengthen our First Amendment protections, not erode them. We ask the City Council to reject Intros 0001 and 0175. We urge our city leaders to take seriously that a free and open democracy is essential towards ensuring the safety of all New Yorkers, including Jewish communities.”
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Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ) is a 6,000-member grassroots organization and the home of New York’s Jewish Left. For over 35 years, JFREJ members have organized alongside our neighbors to transform New York from a playground for the wealthy few into a real democracy, free from all forms of racist violence.
The American Council for Judaism (ACJ) was founded in 1942 to promote Judaism that is rooted in an ethical core, nurtures diverse interdenominational and intercultural Jewish life, is free from Zionist and other nationalist ideologies, and fosters solidarity beyond nationalism. The ACJ offers Jewish education, intercommunal connections, and religious guidance beyond nationalism—free from the Zionist idea of Judaism as a nationality or the elevation of one nation above others.
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) is the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world. JVP organizes a grassroots, multiracial, cross-class, intergenerational movement of U.S. Jews into solidarity with the Palestinian freedom struggle, guided by a vision of justice, equality, and dignity for all people.
IfNotNow New York City (INN-NYC) is a movement of U.S. Jews organizing our community to end U.S. support for Israel's apartheid system and demand equality, justice, and a thriving future for all Palestinians and Israelis.