Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) National President Morton A. Klein released the following statement:

The ZOA strongly supports the efforts to pass and/or reinstate masking (concealment of identity) bans in New York, California and throughout the country.

Pro-Hamas rioters have been using face-covering keffiyehs and other masks to hide their identities while engaging in hateful and violent criminal activities, including trespasses, rioting, destroying property, and menacing and threatening Jews and others on the New York City subway; at New York’s Nova exhibit memorializing October 7th victims; at museums; at Jewish museum officials’ homes; at U.S. Congressmembers’ and U.S. officials’ homes; on campuses throughout the nation; and in front of a synagogue in Los Angeles, to name a few. During many of these riots, pro-Hamas rioters from violent groups such as “Within Our Lifetime” (WOL) have chanted “Intifada! Intifada!” “Globalize the Intifada!” and “kill a Zionist.” These are calls to murder every Jew throughout the world. They also call for the destruction of the Jewish State.

This is not a matter of protecting any rights to anonymous free expression. This is a matter of protecting the public from the current scourge of antisemitic, dangerous hate crimes. Protecting the public from these hate crimes far outweighs any possible interest that the perpetrators may have in remaining anonymous.

ZOA thanks the public officials (including Mayor Adams and Governor Hochul) and legislators who are co-sponsoring and promoting the passage of the concealment of identity bans, including NY State Assembly Bill A 10057A (introduced by Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz; co-sponsored by Assemblymembers Sam Berger, Deborah Glick, Andrew Hevesi, Charles Lavine, Amy Paulin, Yudelka Tapia and Steve Stern; and also promoted by Assemblywoman Nily Rozic and Speaker Carl Heastie) and NY State Senate Bill S 9867 (introduced by Senator James Skoufis).

We urge the prompt passage and enforcement of such identity concealment bans, and strong enforcement against the antisemitic violators of hate crime laws.