NEW YORK — After the New York City Council passed legislation meant to protect houses of worship on Thursday, mainstream Jewish groups took a victory lap.

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, the Jewish descendant of Holocaust survivors who led the effort to pass the bill, held an event with other Jewish leaders the following morning to celebrate at Manhattan’s Park East Synagogue.

A vitriolic protest at the synagogue, and another, weeks later, at a Queens synagogue, were the impetus for the legislation.

“This is such an exciting moment. There are people who doubted our ability to do this, but we got it past the finish line, and we got it past the finish line with this overwhelming vote of support,” Menin said.

The bill marked a welcome victory for Jewish New Yorkers who are alarmed about the ascendancy of the city’s anti-Zionist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, and his far-left allies.

The legislation passed by a margin of 44 votes in favor and five against in the 51-member City Council, giving it a veto-proof majority before it heads to Mamdani’s desk for approval. The bill calls on the police to formulate and make public plans to prevent potential interference at the entrances to houses of worship.

The overwhelming support signaled the limited power of the far left in the council, and was a show of strength for Menin and her allies.

The council handles local legislation, negotiates the city’s budget with the mayor, monitors city agencies and reviews land use. The body is a separate governmental branch from the mayor’s office, but interacts with the mayor and serves as a check on City Hall.

The City Council speaker is a powerful role in the city government that can serve as a counterweight to the mayor’s office. The bill to protect houses of worship was Menin’s first legislative proposal since she became speaker and the most prominent part of her five-point plan to combat antisemitism in the city, where Jews are targeted in hate crimes far more than any other group.

Leftist and anti-Zionist groups had launched a sustained campaign against the legislation, calling it an attack on free speech and oppressive toward Palestinians, holding two rallies on the steps of City Hall........

© The Times of Israel