Around 200 Jewish communal leaders, advocates and local officials gathered Wednesday night in Brooklyn for an Agudath Israel of America legislative reception, held amid growing concern over antisemitism in New York City.

Rabbi A.D. Motzen, Agudah’s new Washington office director, said the event underscored the value of relationship-building in advocacy work, noting that lawmakers need to know their communities in order to properly represent them.

The program honored elected officials who have taken a firm stance against Jew-hatred, with New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin and City Comptroller Mark Levine each receiving “mezuzah” awards for their work on behalf of the Jewish community.

Levine, who is Jewish and previously chaired the City Council’s Jewish Caucus, said the gathering came at a difficult moment for the city’s Jewish community and offered a chance to show unity. He has been a vocal defender of Israel against calls, including from within City Hall, for New York City to boycott the Jewish state, and called Wednesday for stronger education initiatives and better tracking and prosecution of hate crimes. He affirmed that the community is “not going anywhere.”

Menin, another Jewish elected official, whose relatives survived the Holocaust, called the current rise in antisemitism “shameful and unconscionable,” pointing to recent vandalism incidents in Brooklyn and Queens, and highlighted Council efforts including buffer-zone legislation around houses of worship and schools. A companion bill establishing buffer zones around schools was vetoed by Mayor Mamdani after passing without a veto-proof majority.

Rabbi Yeruchim Silber, Agudah’s director of New York government relations, detailed recent legislative wins during the program at Brooklyn Square Rooftop, including $243 million in state mandated services funding for non-public schools, more than $150 million for school and institutional security, statewide 50-foot buffer zones around houses of worship and schools, and the Mezuzah Protection Act. He also praised Governor Kathy Hochul’s plan to opt New York into the federal scholarship tax credit program once regulations are finalized.
“With antisemitism on the rise amidst increasing demonization of the Jewish community, it is gratifying to know we still have good friends in elected office standing up for us,” Silber told Belaaz.

Assemblyman Lester Chang, a Republican whose district includes parts of Brooklyn’s Orthodox community, attended to show solidarity, citing longstanding ties between the Chinese and Jewish communities. Chang recalled that his January 2025 resolution calling for the state to recognize an “Oct. 7 Remembrance Day” was blocked in committee by non-Jewish Democrats, failing by a single vote after what he described as last-minute committee reshuffling.