New York county bans masks hiding identity of Gaza war protesters

New York’s suburban Nassau County has passed a bill to ban the wearing of masks intended to hide the identity of pro-Palestinian protesters against US support for Israel’s war in Gaza, Reuters has reported.

The mask ban will cover any sort of public protest, but lawmakers in the Republican-controlled county say that the bill aims to prevent protesters who engage in alleged violence and anti-Semitism from hiding their identity and avoiding accountability. Civil rights advocates view the step as an infringement on free speech rights.

The bill was approved late on Monday, with all 12 Republicans in the county legislature voting in favour. The seven Democrats abstained.

If it becomes a local law, anyone with a face covering which conceals the identity of the wearer will be guilty of a misdemeanour that can be punished with up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine. It makes exemptions for health or medical reasons as well as for “religious and cultural purposes.”

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican, said that, “Unless someone has a medical condition or a religious imperative, people should not be allowed to cover their face in a manner that hides their identity when in public.” He is expected to sign the bill into law.

The New York Civil Liberties Union has condemned the bill as an attack on free speech. “Masks protect people who express political opinions that are unpopular,” said Susan Gottehrer, the Nassau County regional director of NYCLU. “Making anonymous protest illegal chills political action and is ripe for selective enforcement.”

Gottehrer added that the mask ban’s exceptions were inadequate. “Nassau County police offers are not health professionals or religious experts capable of deciding who needs a mask and who doesn’t,” she insisted.

Israel’s key ally, the US, has seen months of protests, including in New York, against the occupation state’s war in Gaza that has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians, mainly children and women; caused near-famine conditions and starvation; and displaced nearly the entire population of 2.3 million. It has also led to allegations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which Israel denies.

The US has seen a rise in anti-Muslim incidents, anti-Palestinian bias and anti-Semitism amid the war and its resulting protests and counter-protests.

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