A boisterous pro-Palestinian protest that took place in November outside the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan with protesters chanting “Globalize the intifada,” “We don’t want Zionists here” and “Death to the IDF” has resulted in legislation in New York involving demonstrations at places of religious worship.

One measure, in Suffolk County on eastern Long Island, could be voted on by the Suffolk Legislature this month. Similar bills have been introduced before governmental bodies in neighboring Nassau County on western Long Island and in New York City. And, a comparable measure has been introduced in the New York State Legislature.

The Suffolk County measure is titled “A Local Law to Prohibit Demonstrations Within Ten Feet of Another Person Entering or Leaving a Place of Religious Worship and Not Within Thirty-five Feet of an Entrance.”

Its sponsors are Legislator Stephanie Bontempi, a Republican from Centerport, and Nick Caracappa, a Conservative Party member from Selden who runs with Republican endorsement. He is the legislature’s majority caucus leader. Bontempi is an immigrant to the United States from Sweden, a naturalized US citizen. A Huntington Town resident for 30 years, she won election to the Suffolk County Legislature in 2021 and took office in January 2022. Previously, she was an elementary school teacher. Caracappa, formerly a union leader, has been a legislator since 2020.

The Suffolk Legislature could vote on the measure when it next meets on April 21. Last month, at what was set as a public hearing on the bill, no one spoke for or against.

The measure begins: “This Legislature hereby finds and determines that individuals have a constitutional right to practice their religion and to safely travel to and from religious institutions without physical obstruction, interference, intimidation or risk of injury.”

“This Legislature also finds and determines that public safety and the right to religious freedom are threatened when demonstrators enter or remain in close proximity to those that are attempting to enter or leave places of worship,” it says.

“Therefore, the purpose of this local law is to protect public safety and the right to religious freedom by ensuring that demonstrators exercising their right to free speech be prohibited from demonstrating within thirty-five feet of the entrance area or driveway of a place of........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)