The American Jewish Congress applauds the inclusion of the “No Hate In Our State” package in the FY2021 Budget – an initiative that we have strongly supported and advocated for since it was first launched.
The “No Hate In Our State” plan will guarantee $25 million in state funding to help communities, organizations, and houses of worship vulnerable to hate crimes, while it will invest $2 million in supporting the State Police Hate Crimes Task Force. At the same time, the “No Hate In Our State” package enacts the Hate Crimes Domestic Terrorism Act, a first in the nation law that defines hate-fueled murder as an act of domestic terrorism, and which is symbolically named after Josef Neumann, the victim of the horrific Monsey stabbing attack who passed away last Sunday after being in a coma for three months.
We thank Governor Andrew Cuomo for proposing this initiative and spearheading the efforts to combat anti-Semitic violence in the state of New York. We thank all the lawmakers that overwhelmingly supported it.
