Six City Council Members who Voted Against “End Jew Hatred Day” Belong to NYC Progressive Caucus

By Yehudit Garmaise

“Proud to report that my resolution declaring April 29 as #EndJewHatredDay passed today in the Council,” tweeted Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (48th), who sponsored the bill along with City Councilmember Kalman Yeger (44th). “But not without controversy! With 2 Nos and 4 abstentions! A ‘NO’ to Ending Jew-Hatred. Let that sink in.”

All six of the City Council members who were not willing to say that they would stand up for hate and violence that is directed at Jewish New Yorkers are proud members of the NYC Progressive Caucus.

City Council Members Shahana Hanif, who represents NYC’s 39th district, which includes much of Boro Park, and Sandy Nurse, who represents District 37 shockingly voted, “No,” on a resolution motivated by what City Council Member Vernikov said is, “a disturbing nationwide trend of anti-Semitic hate crimes that has engulfed our city.”

The City Council Members who did not bother to cast votes against anti-Jewish hate were: Alexa Avilés, who represents nearby Sunset Park in District 38, Rita Joseph, who represents District 40, which is in Crown Heights, Jennifer Gutiérrez, who represents District 34 in Bushwick, and Charles Barron, who represents District 42 in E. New York. 

“It's sad that these progressives are willing to bend over backwards to give every imagined aggrieved group their rights to a hate-free existence, but not to Jews, who are the target of most hate crimes today,” said Yochonon Donn, a journalist and lifelong resident of Boro Park. “I'm not a fan of these ‘end hate days,’ but to vote against one certainly takes a huge amount of hatred to Jews.”

Another Boro Park native said, “The bill doesn’t mean much: it is just on paper, but that some council members wouldn’t vote for it shows hate. It is disgusting to see that three people would reject such a bill.”

After Mayor Eric Adams and her colleagues for the bi-partisan support her resolution received to protect Jews from being “harassed, vilified, and beaten,” Vernikov added, “It is astounding to see council members who do not want to end Jew-hatred. Your anti-Semitism is showing.”