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City Council Speaker Julie Menin will announce her own task force to combat antisemitism on Thursday — rivaling Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s own pending group as critics question his commitment to the office.
The council task force will be made up of seven council members and staff with Jewish caucus members Inna Vernikov (R-48) and Eric Dinowitz (D-11) serving as co-chairs — a separate entity from Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, which he has yet to get off the ground.
“Jewish New Yorkers are targeted by hate crimes more than every other group combined,” Menin said in a statement to The Post.
“The City Council is responding with decisive action by investing in education, community safety, and real resources to confront antisemitism head-on, and by creating this new task force,” she added.
The co-chairs said the group will be charged with holding hearings, making recommendations and working towards Menin’s recent five-point legislative plan to combat Jewish hate.
The speaker is considering issuing subpoena power to compel people to appear before the group, sources said.
Vernikov — who will be the only Republican serving on the task force — said she had the idea for the group for a while and approached Menin with the concept after the speaker’s race. Menin became speaker earlier this month.
“She immediately said yes and she’s looking forward to working with us on this task force,” Vernikov said.
“I am very excited to spearhead it,” she added, noting that she works well with both Menin and Dinowitz.
“We will seek justice for Jewish New Yorkers at a time when Jewish civil rights are being trampled on and when there is grave concern for our future in this city.”
The announcement comes on the heels of a report that Mamdani is interviewing Elad Nehorai, a critic of ultra-orthodox Judaism, for the top post of his own Office to Combat Antisemitism, first reported by Politico.
Mamdani — a harsh critic of Israel and a supporter of the controversial boycott, divestment and sanctions movement — has been slow to appoint a leader to the post but Dinowitz said the task force is open to working with Hizzoner’s office when it’s up and running.
“I’m willing to work with anyone who wants to confront this crisis head on,” Dinowitz said.
“It’s not enough to verbally condemn antisemitism. It’s a critical component. We absolutely should be condemning it, but we have to take action as a government to confront the crisis.”
A spokesperson for the mayor did not respond to a request for comment.
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