NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- The slew of menacing, chilling and terrifying antisemitic protests by masked individuals that has plagued New York since Hamas' Oct. 7 terror attack, has prompted some community leaders and lawmakers to call for a repeal of the mask mandate that was enacted when COVID-19 struck, arguing it's allowing agitators to engage in hate crimes without repercussions.
The calls for a repeal of the mask mandate have grown louder since video surfaced this week of individuals covering their faces with surgical masks, keffiyehs (Arab headdress) and other garments on a lower Manhattan subway train, demanding "Raise your hand if you're a Zionist -- this is your chance to get out! OK, no Zionists, we're good!" The group, according to ABC News, had just returned from a protest where flags for U.S.-designated terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah were waved, and "long live October 7" was chanted. More than 1,200 people in southern Israel were massacred on Oct. 7 and about 240 people abducted by Hamas and its accomplices to Gaza.
Gov. Kathy Hochul told CNN Wednesday night she is exploring repealing the mask mandate.
"There was a ban on masks before the pandemic that you couldn't have face coverings that didn't serve a purpose. For example, a surgical mask for someone who is elderly or ill — the pandemic removed that from our State Law," she said. "It was repealed at the time, but I absolutely will go back and take a look at this and see whether it can be restored because it is frightening to people."
She added, "You're sitting on a subway train and someone puts on a mask like this and comes in — you don't know if they're going to be committing a crime, they're going to have a gun, or whether they're just going to be threatening or intimidating you because you are Jewish, which is exactly what happened the other day. Absolutely unacceptable in the State of New York."
Scott Richman, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League for New York and New Jersey, told 1010 WINS/WCBS 880, the 110-year-old advocacy group "is very much in favor" of such a ban, adding, "we don't think that full masking should be permitted -- it's a safety issue."
Richman said, "Clearly there are people who are hiding behind those masks and saying things and doings things that are reprehensible and we believe that if they were not wearing those masks they would not be so bold in their statements."
Richman explained, "There should be some sort of intent clause in the law where the law needs to show that the person had intent to harass or threaten somebody and not simply wearing the mask."
While Richman acknowledged, "there are reasons that one could wear a mask for religious purposes, for some sort of holiday, for obvious medical needs, and for all of those there should be exceptions," he doubled-down that "there is a safety imperative here that people's identities need to be known."
Unmasking hate-fueled gatherings is not new in the U.S. -- nor for the ADL, said Richman.
"The ADL was at the forefront of the unmasking of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1950s, and other extremist groups," he said. "These were laws in the South that were designed to to unmask the Klan in an effort to to get them to expose themselves and, and therefore, have them not want to be as visible."
"And it worked -- those laws were put into place in six states in the South and it basically tanked the Klan," he explained. "Nobody wanted to be identified as being associated with an extremist group. And this is a version of that. These are extremists who are making vile and despicable statements and engaged in despicable acts and they should not be allowed to wear masks."
Meanwhile, New York State assemblyman Mike Reilly of Staten Island, in April introduced legislation to "prohibit deceptive mask wearing during protests, rallies, and other public assemblies," he posted on X at the time.
Reilly, a former NYPD lieutenant, said, "if this proposal becomes law, it will hold individuals accountable for their actions and may even deter the kinds of disruptive and violent behavior we've witnessed unfold at our colleges and universities."
And on Thursday he told Newsline with Brigitte Quinn on WCBS 880, "When they deceptively use a mask to hide their faces and cause a risk to public safety, that's a call to action."
And a repeal of the mask mandate has also received the backing of Louis Turco, president of the NYPD Lieutenants Benevolent Association, who said, "this is common sense legislation created to prevent criminals from hiding their appearance while committing crimes and preventing victims from identifying their attackers."
While the ADL's Richman said a statewide ban is ideal, "New York City is a good start, I'll take what I can get. Certainly, according to our data, the vast majority of antisemitic incidents in New York State occur in New York City, so it's a very good start."
John Davis contributed to this report.