Inna Vernikov, a Jewish Republican representing part of south Brooklyn, will lead the task force alongside Eric Dinowitz, a Jewish Democrat from the Bronx. Both are second-term members of the council.
Vernikov said the bipartisan group will "hold people accountable" for antisemitism and could serve as a check on City Hall.
Vernikov brought the idea for the task force to Menin, who is Jewish and set up the group. Menin has made combating antisemitism a priority since assuming leadership of the council earlier this month, and could act as a moderate counterweight to the city’s far-left Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a longtime anti-Israel activist.
There will be seven council members on the task force, Jewish and non-Jewish, out of the 51 total members of the legislative body. The group will be run out of the council’s Jewish caucus.
The task force will hold hearings to look into antisemitic hate crimes and probe antisemitism in areas such as protests, schools, higher education and city agencies. Meniin will be able to use her position as council speaker to issue subpoenas to compel individuals to attend hearings. The group will also suggest legislation to combat antisemitism, Vernikov said.
The other members of the task force will be the council’s Mercedes Narcisse, Gale Brewer, Harvey Epstein, Virginia Maloney and Kamillah Hanks, Vernikov said. Epstein is Jewish.
The council’s antisemitism task force is not directly related to the mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, a separate body housed in City Hall, but "may be a check to that," Vernikov said.
"The individuals being interviewed to lead that task force are very questionable and could be problematic," she said. Mamdani is reportedly interviewing candidates who have been critical of some Orthodox communities, which are disproportionately targeted in hate crimes.
Menin, in a briefing at the council on Thursday, also announced the legislation to control protests at "sensitive locations" such as synagogues, churches, mosques and schools. The legislation would require the police to establish a 100-foot security perimeter around the entrances to places of worship.
The legislation comes after two caustic protests outside New York City synagogues in recent months. Those protests saw anti-Zionist activists harass Jewish passersby, shout antisemitic tropes and chant in support of Hamas
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,..., a US-designated terrorist group committed to killing Jews. The pro-Hamas protest also took place outside a Jewish school and a public school.
The "safe access bills" will have the NYPD implement a "safety plan and a safety risk assessment" that will "provide law enforcement and the public with a clear framework to maintain safe entry," Menin said.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul proposed a similar statewide measure this month that would establish a 25-foot buffer zone around houses of worship.
The legislation has raised concerns about the First Amendment right to freedom of assembly and may face challenges claiming the measure is unconstitutional. Anti-Zionist activists have publicly opposed the proposals, calling them a threat to free speech.
Free speech is a Constitutional right. Assault and battery are not.