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Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a new slate of executive actions to combat antisemitism on Sept. 19. The new actions, which are in response to President Joe Biden’s national strategy to counter antisemitism released in May, include initiatives for education, discussion and services for victims of antisemitic hate incidents.

Under the new legislation, Hochul’s office is set to create the New York State Anti-Hate Education Center, establish Annual Convenings, improve bias incident data collection and fund victim compensation services, according to a press release from Hochul’s announcement.

“As Governor of the State with the largest Jewish population outside the State of Israel, I feel a solemn responsibility to protect and uplift New York’s vibrant, diverse Jewish communities,” Gov. Hochul said in the release. “We will continue taking action to fight antisemitism and use every tool at our disposal to eliminate hate and bias from our communities.”

The Anti-Hate Education Center will work with officials from CUNY and SUNY, as well as the New York State Education Department and the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities, which Syracuse University is a member of. Through the education center, the state will host annual convenings to discuss matters of hate, with its inaugural convening in summer 2024 set to focus on antisemitism.

The center, through research and discussions, will develop curricula and training as well as provide policy recommendations to institutions across the state, according to the release.

Ken Frieden, the B.G. Rudolph professor of Judaic studies at SU, said it’s important to focus education initiatives on a holistic scope of Jewish culture rather than just targeting antisemitic incidents. While many education curricula include the Holocaust and materials about it, like the novel “Night” by Elie Wiesel, Frieden said, he wants to give less attention to acts of hate and instead focus on cultural and linguistic elements of Jewish history.

“I think that you got funds to devote to help the situation of ethnic groups, emphasize the positive,” Frieden said. “Money gets money, invest the money in positive representation of ethnic groups.”

Asher Kriegel, an SU junior and member of Syracuse Hillel Center for Jewish Life, said he was gratified to see such state-level action taken against antisemitism.

Hochul’s actions also included investments in the state’s Division of Human Rights, Office of Victim Services, Division of Criminal Justice Services, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, State Police and Office of Mental Health. The investments target improving data collection of bias incidents and improving services and resources for those impacted by antisemitic bias incidents.

Within the Division of Criminal Justice Services, a total of $51.6 million will go to security measure improvements at places like community and civic centers, childcare centers, cultural museums and other locations that could be vulnerable to acts of hate.

“Antisemitism continues to be an ongoing issue that often goes unaddressed in the US and to see a political figure take notice is a great step in the right direction,” Kriegel wrote in a statement to The Daily Orange. “51 million is a lot of money and hopefully it is all used in a meaningful way. However, money doesn’t often change the way people view the world.”

SU’s Department of Public Safety has reported two antisemitic bias incidents so far this academic year, including a report of antisemitic graffiti found by a student on the 10th floor of Brewster Hall on Sept. 17. Five antisemitic bias incidents total have been reported to DPS dating back to the start of the 2020-2021 academic year, according to DPS’ bias incident tracker.

Asst. News Editor Faith Bolduc and Asst. Copy Editor Kendall Luther contributed reporting to this story.

Published on September 27, 2023 at 11:27 pm

Contact Stephanie: spwright@syr.edu