County in New York bans wearing masks to hide identity of Gaza war protesters

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New York's suburban Nassau County has passed a bill to ban wearing of masks with aim to hide the identity of pro-Palestinian protesters against U.S. support for Israel's war in Gaza.

The ban on mask would cover any sort of public protest, but lawmakers in the Republican-controlled county say the bill aims to prevent protesters who engage in alleged violence and antisemitism from hiding their identity and avoiding accountability. Civil rights advocates saw 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 its favor while the seven Democrats abstained.

The bill makes wearing a facial covering to hide identity in public a misdemeanor that can be punished with up to one year in prison and a $1,000 penalty. It makes exemptions for health or medical reasons as well as for "religious and cultural purposes."

"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," Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican, said about the bill that he is expected to sign.

The New York Civil Liberties Union said the bill was an attack on free speech.

"Masks protect people who express political opinions that are unpopular. Making anonymous protest illegal chills political action and is ripe for selective enforcement," Susan Gottehrer, the Nassau County regional director of NYCLU, said.

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."

The U.S., Israel's key ally, has seen months of protests, including in New York, against Israel's war in Gaza that has killed nearly 40,000 according to the local health ministry, caused a hunger crisis, displaced nearly the entire population of 2.3 million. It also has led to genocide allegations that Israel denies.

The latest bloodshed in the decades old Israeli-Palestinian conflict began when Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 and taking around 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

The U.S. has also seen a rise in anti-Muslim incidents, anti-Palestinian bias and antisemitism amid the war and its resulting protests and counter-protests.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by David Gregorio)