It is now illegal in New York to forcibly remove someone’s kippah

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation on Tuesday that criminalizes the removal of someone else’s religious garb, including kippahs and hijabs.

Hochul said the legislation, part of a package she signed into law, will “help protect New Yorkers and further reduce crime.”

She added in a statement, “Public safety is my top priority and I’m committed to using every possible tool to keep New Yorkers safe.”

The legislation comes amid a surge in antisemitism in New York City since the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. And an August report by Tom DiNapoli, the state comptroller, found that antisemitic hate crimes had increased by 89% from 2018 to 2023 across the state. 

Many of the attacks in the city target religious Jews who are identifiable by their attire, and assailants have regularly swatted kippahs and shtreimels off the heads of Jews on city streets in recent years.

The legislation Hochul signed will classify the removal, or the threat of removal, of religious clothing including kippahs and hijabs as aggravated harassment in the second degree, a statement by Hochul’s office said. 

“There have been multiple incidents where individuals’ religious clothing has been threatened in acts of hateful violence,” it added.

Aggravated harassment in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor that covers a range of behaviors, including threats, verbal harassment and physical strikes motivated by a person’s identity.

The new legislation is an amendment to the existing law against aggravated harassment. The amendment states that “removing a religious clothing article or headdress” is covered by the law and takes effect immediately.

Similar amendments were introduced to the state legislature in the past but failed to become law.

The new amendment was introduced by Assemblymember Nader Sayegh, a Jordanian-American Democrat from Yonkers. One of the bill’s co-sponsors was Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, an Israeli-American Democrat from Queens. There were no votes against the amendment in any of its readings.

New York legislators have attempted to use legislation in other cases to combat the surge in antisemitism. In Long Island’s Nassau County, the legislature passed a bill proposed by Israeli-American Mazi Pilip that bans masks at protests, a common sight at pro-Palestinian demonstrations that, according to law enforcement, has impeded the prosecution of people who perpetrate crimes. Jewish groups and other pro-Israel activists have pushed for a similar statewide law.

Hochul said earlier this year that she would back legislation expanding the number of crimes eligible for hate crimes prosecution, but the bill has not yet passed.