NEW YORK — The New York City Council announced the launch of a Task Force to Combat Antisemitism on Thursday, as hate crimes in the city continue to disproportionately target Jews, including in several high-profile recent incidents.

The task force was established amid a broader push by members of the council to rein in antisemitism. Council Speaker Julie Menin also announced legislation to create a buffer zone for protests at sensitive spots, including synagogues.

Inna Vernikov, a Jewish Republican representing part of south Brooklyn, will lead the task force alongside Eric Dinowitz, a Jewish Democrat from the Bronx. Both are second-term members of the council.

Vernikov said the bipartisan group will “hold people accountable” for antisemitism and could serve as a check on City Hall.

Vernikov brought the idea for the task force to Menin, who is Jewish and set up the group. Menin has made combating antisemitism a priority since assuming leadership of the council earlier this month, and could act as a moderate counterweight to the city’s far-left Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a longtime anti-Israel activist.

“It won’t just be a task force that does photo ops and a couple of meetings a year,” Vernikov told The Times of Israel. “It will be a real task force that will strive to bring about meaningful change.”

There will be seven council members on the task force, Jewish and non-Jewish, out of the 51 total members of the legislative body. The group will be run out of the council’s Jewish caucus.

The task force will hold hearings to look into antisemitic hate crimes and probe antisemitism in areas such as protests, schools, higher education and city agencies. Menin will be able to use her position as council speaker to issue subpoenas to compel individuals to attend hearings. The group will also suggest legislation to combat antisemitism, Vernikov said.

The other members of the task force will be the council’s Mercedes Narcisse, Gale Brewer, Harvey Epstein, Virginia Maloney and Kamillah Hanks, Vernikov said. Epstein is........

© The Times of Israel