Columbia anti-Israel coalition says NYC mask ban proposal is rooted in 'legacies of racism'
The anti-Israel Columbia University Apartheid Divest student coalition has condemned a mask ban proposal intended to curb crime in subways.
'Mayor Eric Adams ... predictably championed the idea of a mask ban, which would enable his legion of pigs to pick off protesters at random and send them to jail,' the groups wrote.
Multiple anti-Israel groups, including Columbia University Apartheid Divest, spoke out against a mask ban proposal intended to curb crime in subways.
In a June 28 Instagram post, the groups stated that new calls to institute such a mask ban constituted “[a] tired tactic of fascists trying to divide movements.”
“Earlier this month, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that she is considering a ban on face masks in New York City’s subway system,” the post reads. “The move would target ‘individuals using masks to evade being responsible for criminal or threatening behavior,’ in particular, ‘abhorrent acts of antisemitism’ committed by pro-Palestine protesters.”
The group continued their criticism of Gov. Hochul, writing: “Hochul said the ban would include ‘common sense exemptions’ for people covering their faces for medical reasons (a category that would reasonably include everyone given the recent surge in a new COVID variant).”
The anti-Israel organizations also criticized New York City Mayor Eric Adams for his support for the idea of a mask ban, saying: “Mayor Eric Adams, who compared pro-Palestine protesters who cover their faces to the KKK, predictably championed the idea of a mask ban, which would enable his legion of pigs to pick off protesters at random and send them to jail.”
“Masks keep us safe,” they continued. “They prevent the spread of viruses like COVID-19. They protect us from state surveillance. They protect us from doxxing by Zionists who show up at our protests and demand that we ‘show ourselves.’”
The groups also claimed that the calls for a mask ban echo similar calls that have been allegedly used to repress New York City’s population in the past: “New York has a long history of using mask bans to repress popular struggle. They were first implemented in the 1800s to crush armed uprisings by tenant farmers in the Hudson Valley, and only repealed in 2020 when the city was ravaged by the novel coronavirus.”
The post also took aim at the police, referring to them as “pigs”: “This logic establishes a dichotomy — good mask wearers versus bad ones — and encourages an arbitrary implementation of the law by the pigs and by business owners, who get to decide which of their patrons must unmask. We all know who they will choose.”
“When we confront mask bans, we confront legacies of racism, state sanctioned violence, and islamophobia. We confront a ruling class that endeavors to divide our movement and sever our solidarity with Gaza,” the groups added.
The post concludes with a call to action, asking people to protest in the streets against the ban. The post also calls for people to “[s]trike back against the fascist mask ban, the state. Take the streets as you choose, in a keffiyeh and an N-95. Free Palestine.”
Campus Reform has contacted Columbia University Apartheid Divest for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
