NY bill to outlaw display of Hamas, Hezbollah flags

If it passes, those who wave flags of Hezbollah or Hamas at protests could go to jail for up to four years.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Two Democrats are presenting a bill this week to the New York State assembly that would outlaw the display of terrorist flags, slapping wrongdoers with a punishment of up to four years in prison, The New York Post reported Sunday.

Called the Stand Against Flags of Enemy Terrorists Act, it was authored by State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblyman Micah Lasher.

It would amend the classification of what is considered aggravated harassment in the first degree to include instances when a person displays a symbol of a foreign terrorist organization with the intent to harass, annoy, or threaten or another person.

There are some symbols that “cross the line” from free speech to fomenting hate, Lasher told the daily, “and the emblems of mass-murdering terrorist organizations certainly belong in that category.”

Flags of Hezbollah, Hamas, and other Middle East terror groups would join the Nazi swastika and KKK symbols of flaming crosses and nooses as emblems that cannot be brandished about in public.

Anti-Israel activists have often flown Hamas flags at the myriad protests they have held throughout New York City since the Gazan terror organization led an assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which they massacred 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.

Protesters have also worn Hezbollah headbands and displayed pictures of terror leaders assassinated by Israel, including Hamas political head Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, as they marched and chanted slogans calling for Israel’s destruction, such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Hoylman-Sigal, who represents a large portion of the West Side of Manhattan, home to thousands of Jews, condemned the incidents as antisemitic.

“Since the October 7th terror attack in Israel, we’ve witnessed a disturbing rise in antisemitic instances here at home, including using symbols and flags of terrorist organizations to harass and intimidate Jewish New Yorkers at their synagogues, businesses, and homes, simply because they’re Jewish,” he said in a statement, adding that “no one should be allowed” to do so.

Eric Goldstein, CEO of the UJA-Federation of New York, applauded the move.

“No one should have to face intimidation or the feeling that they are unsafe because of their Jewish identity,” he said. “The S.A.F.E.T.Y. Act is a necessary and sensible measure to prevent the use of terrorist symbols as a tool of hate and intimidation.”

Last summer, a poll by the New York Solidarity Network found that 44% of Jewish respondents said they personally felt unsafe as Jews in New York City, and 67% of Orthodox and identifiably Jewish respondents said they felt unsafe.

This accorded with local police statistics, which showed that in the first half of 2024, a whopping 200 of 329 hate crimes targeted Jews.