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The New York Civil Liberties Union has called a bill that would ban masks to conceal the identity of pro-Palestinian protesters and those opposing US support for Israel's war on Gaza an attack on free speech.
Nassau County, in suburban New York, passed the bill, which was supported by all 12 Republicans in the county legislature, while seven Democrats abstained.
The mask ban includes any kind of public protest, but lawmakers in the Republican-controlled district say the bill is intended to prevent protesters who engage in violence and anti-Semitism from hiding their identities.
The bill makes covering one's face to conceal one's identity in public an offence punishable by up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine. But it exempts covering one's face for health reasons and “religious or cultural purposes.”
“Unless someone has a medical condition or religious necessity, people should not be allowed to cover their faces in a way that conceals their identities in public,” Nassau County Chairman Bruce Blickman, a Republican, said of the bill expected to pass.
The New York Civil Liberties Union called the bill an attack on free speech.
“Masks protect people who express unpopular political views,” said Susan Gotterer, Nassau County Regional Director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. “Making it illegal to protest anonymously chills political action and allows for selective law enforcement.”
Gutterer added that the exceptions to the mask ban are insufficient and that “Nassau County Police are not health professionals or religious experts who can determine who needs a mask and who doesn’t.”
The United States, Israel’s main ally, has seen months of protests, including in New York, against Israel’s assault on Gaza, which has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians according to the health ministry, sparked a hunger crisis and displaced nearly all of the besieged Palestinian enclave’s 2.3 million people. It has also led to accusations that Israel is committing genocide.
Incidents of anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian and anti-Semitism have also increased in the United States, amidst the war and protests against it and counter-protests.
