Bend the Arc: Jewish Action Welcomes Mayor Mandani’s Veto of New York City Council’s Intro 175-B, A Bill To Restrict Free Speech Near Schools
Intro 175-B is ineffective, endangers the communities it claims to protect, risks fueling antisemitism, and weakens the democracy we need to strengthen to fight against Trump’s authoritarianism.
The American Jewish community is living in a time of heightened fear — both from antisemitism and from the Trump regime’s attempts to dismantle our democracy. And American Jews know that our democracy is what keeps Jews — and all of us — safest. As we witness increased threats to Jews, Muslims, and Black, brown, trans, and immigrant people across our communities, we know that freedom of speech — as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution — is a non-negotiable pillar of that democracy.
During this time of unprecedented risk, legislation that curtails free speech undermines the safety of those targeted by the regime, including American Jews. In the face of efforts to subvert elections and ongoing attacks on civil liberties, local communities must strengthen protections for free expression — not expand law enforcement’s ability to criminalize it.
Crucially, using our community’s fear of antisemitism as a smokescreen to pass legislation that takes away the rights Americans cherish is poised to fuel antisemitism, not dismantle it — creating further danger to American Jews, not less. Cities like New York, as well as universities themselves, are already equipped with agencies to respond to issues of harassment and discrimination. Increasing their resources would actually confront these issues head-on without threatening our safety and our democracy.
Bills like Intro 175-B also risk setting national precedents; a Democratic member of Congress recently signaled interest in joining MAGA Republicans to use these measures as templates for national laws.
As the ACLU finds, this plan to attack free speech is so broad that it “could swallow up whole neighborhoods” just for being anywhere near what police decide is an “educational facility.” 175-B lends wide discretion to law enforcement to make these determinations. Historically, their broad interpretations have meant racial profiling, attacks on those struggling through mental health crises, and LGBTQIA+ discrimination. We know through decades of our work on policing that exposing students to more law enforcement decreases student safety.
From the Civil Rights movement, to the Vietnam and Iraq wars, to Occupy, Black Lives Matter, the fights against sexual violence on campus, and labor struggles, student protest has been a rightly celebrated feature in American culture. And Jewish students have played critical roles in the multifaith, multiracial coalitions that led them.
Criminalization of student protests recalls some of the most shameful moments in this nation’s history. At Kent State in 1970, the National Guard killed four peaceful, anti-war student protesters (three of whom were Jewish). More recently, we’ve witnessed McCarthy-esque hearings, evictions, suspensions, abductions, and even deportations of students — simply for exercising their right to free speech.
We support Mayor Mamdani’s veto and urge other elected officials to follow his lead in favoring real solutions to safety and reject attacks on our civil liberties. Bend the Arc: Jewish Action calls on elected leaders to defend everyone’s right to be heard and all the constitutional rights we need to beat authoritarianism, so that we can build the safe, thriving nation of our dreams.
Photo © City of New York, 2026
Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office. Used with permission, via Flickr.
