A proposed New York state law to protect synagogues from angry demonstrations with a 25-foot buffer zone signals a defeat for American Jewry. Indeed, the mere introduction of such legislation is an admission that incoming mayor Zohran Mamdani has already inaugurated bleaker times for the city and, perhaps, for the nation. It’s not the text of the legislation that is the main problem, of course. It’s the fact that it’s perceived as necessary at all. The sponsors of the bill are responding