Exclusive | NY state Assembly Democrats torpedo bipartisan bill to commemorate Oct. 7 attack on Israel

ALBANY – Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie torpedoed a bipartisan bill that would have commemorated the horrific Oct.7, 2023 attack on Israel.The Bronx pol went to extraordinary lengths Friday to ensure that the measure would not make it to the Assembly floor for a vote, stacking a committee with compliant Democratic allies who’d vote to scuttle it, sources said.The bill, sponsored by Republican Assemblyman Lester Chang, would have enshrined Oct.

7 alongside other days of commemoration in the Empire State, such as “Rosa Parks Day” and “Susan B.Anthony Day.”Sources suggested that Heastie, the most powerful Democrat in the Assembly, likely didn’t want a bill with a Republican as its primary sponsor reach the floor for a vote — even though a number of Dems co-sponsored it.

“It shouldn’t be controversial just because I’m a Republican,” said Chang (R-Brooklyn).“It’s ugly.It’s destructive.

It’s hurtful for both sides,” Chang said of Heastie’s actions, adding, “And it’s important that we remember 1,200 victims.”The move to kill the Oct.7 bill follows chaotic behind-the-scenes drama that unfolded this week when Heastie permitted putting up a resolution honoring Palestinian Americans onto the floor before yanking it at the last minute.The lower chamber’s ways and means committee also killed a bill by Assemblyman Ari Brown (R-Nassau) that would’ve required New York schools to teach about Oct.

7, in addition to making it a day of commemoration like Chang’s measure.Brown, who is Jewish, accused the Democrats of “veiled antisemitism.”“Albany’s legislature is rotten with veiled antisemitism, and their sabotage of my bill, A06557, to honor October 7th victims and fight hate, is proof,” Brown said.“If this were a bill for the Black or Hispanic community, it would’ve passed with praise and fanfare.This isn’t just obstruction; it’s a vile, calculated betrayal of Jews as a minority, letting hatred win with their cowar...