Senate Resolution No. 2787
BY: Senator MARTUCCI
MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim
September 8, 2022, as End Jew Hatred Day in the
State of New York
WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize
official days that are set aside to increase awareness of serious events
that affect the lives of the citizens of New York State; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing tradition, it is the sense of this Legislative Body to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim September 8, 2022, as End
Jew Hatred Day in the State of New York; and
WHEREAS, For millennia, the Jewish people have sustained their
shared religious, cultural, and ethnic identity and traditions in the
face of enslavement, persecution, genocide, segregation and
discrimination, and all manner of adversity; and
WHEREAS, Ever since the first Jew set foot in New Amsterdam in 1654,
members of the Jewish community have made indelible contributions to the
culture, history, and social fabric of New York State and the United
States of America, strengthening the country, and helping shape all
areas of American life; and
WHEREAS, The belief in the greatness of the American way of life,
the freedoms enshrined in American law and jurisprudence, and the
opportunities sustained by American democracy drew generations of Jewish
immigrants to America, including Jews fleeing persecution and pogroms in
Europe and the Middle East, Holocaust survivors, and Jews trapped behind
the Iron Curtain; and
WHEREAS, This history encouraged many Jews to become leading
proponents and supporters of the civil rights movement, marching
shoulder to shoulder with African Americans and others, united in
support for equal rights, equal protection under the law, and the
recognition and respect of human dignity; and
WHEREAS, The Jewish community has prominently participated in
virtually every civil rights effort in the American experience, fighting
against discrimination and bigotry in all its forms and demanding the
equal rights of every member of society; and
WHEREAS, Despite the proclamation and resolutions, and despite the
advances made in promoting social justice for other minority groups, the
Jewish community has continued to be subjected to antisemitism and
Jew-hatred, including discrimination in the workplace, at school, and in
society; and
WHEREAS, This antisemitism and Jew-hatred has manifested in
workplaces, on campuses, and in society, expressing itself as both
discrimination and violence targeting Jews for their identity and
seeking to deny their shared identity, including their indigenous
connection to their ancestral homeland; and
WHEREAS, Hate crimes directed against the Jewish community have
skyrocketed in recent years, with physical attacks against Jews in New
York State alone increasing by 325% between 2020 and 2021, resulting in
the highest number of antisemitic acts of violence on record in New York
State; and
WHEREAS, The number of incidents of Jew-hatred, manifesting as
physical assault, harassment, and vandalism, and including antisemitic
fliers, banners, stickers, and written messages, has increased
nationwide to the highest level since 1979; and
WHEREAS, The explosive growth in hate crimes directed against the
Jewish community, coupled with the persistence of systemic Jew-hatred,
has inspired the formation of a grassroots End Jew Hatred civil rights
movement to alter public discourse and make Jew-hatred unacceptable in
contemporary society, empowering Jews with positivity and strength to
discover and enjoy their heritage in whichever manner they choose,
without fear of attack or persecution; and
WHEREAS, The End Jew Hatred civil rights movement has united people
to respond to pervasive antisemitism, working towards the promise of a
bright future that can only be achieved by fighting racism and bigotry
today; and
WHEREAS, September 8, 2022, marks the recognition of the first End
Jew Hatred Day, on which citizens of the State of New York will join
together to commit to ending Jew-hatred in the State of New York and
across the United States; and
WHEREAS, Our state shares an obligation to condemn and combat
Jew-hatred in all its forms, and to stand resolute against Jew-hatred so
that the intergenerational trauma of the past shall never be repeated;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim September 8, 2022, as End
Jew Hatred Day in the State of New York; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York.
