Jewish groups lead protest of hundreds outside Mamdani’s residence

NEW YORK — Hundreds of Jewish New Yorkers and allies protested on Tuesday night outside the official residence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Mamdani has long been at odds with the mainstream Jewish community due to his antagonism toward Israel, but Tuesday’s protest was the first Jewish community rally at his residence, Gracie Mansion, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

The activist group EndJewHatred organized the rally with the backing of groups including the Israeli American Council, the Catholic League and the Zionist Organization of America.

Organizers said the protesters were demanding Mamdani’s removal from office “over his failure to address rising radicalization and anti-American extremism in New York City.”

The crowd waved American and Israeli flags and chanted, “USA,” “Zohran Mamdani’s got to go,”  and, “From the river to the sea, New York City will be free.”

Attendees carried signs that said, “Remove Mamdani,” and, “Antizionism gets Jews killed.” Some wore stickers that said, “Make love, not intifada.”

One man carried a flag for the extremist Jewish Defense League.

The online influencer Zach Sage Fox accused Mamdani of “failing to protect” the Jewish community.

“Our ancestors risked everything so that we could make sure that America was truly a land of religious freedom that Jews could thrive in, and New York City was built by Jews, Mr. Mamdani,” he told the crowd.

The crowd was mostly Jewish, alongside supporters from Christian, Muslim and Iranian expat communities. Organizers estimated that around 1,000 people attended over the course of the protest.

In response to Muslims attending the protest, New York City Councilmember Shahana Hanif, a hard left lawmaker from Brooklyn, said on X, “May Allah condemn you to Jahannam,” using the Arabic word for “hell.”

The comment drew blowback from Jewish legislators.

“Pretty harsh reaction to people speaking in America,” said New York State Assemblyman Kalman Yeger.

The protest took place within a barricaded area on the street opposite Gracie Mansion. There was a heavy police presence between the protesters and the residence, and police and Jewish security personnel checked attendees at the entrance.

The only organized counter-protest was several dozen members of the extremist Naturei Karta sect, who show up to nearly every Israel-related protest in the city.

There were some scuffles outside the entrance, as a man in a red and yellow Airbender costume with a cape and the street personality Crackhead Barney harangued and filmed attendees as they left. Both sides called each other antisemites and police quickly broke up a shoving match.

Mamdani has drawn condemnation from Jewish groups for his refusal to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, for his hiring of anti-Zionist staffers who espoused hardline rhetoric against Israel, and for defending the protest slogan “globalize the intifada,” which he later said he would “discourage,” among other issues.

Most recently, Mamdani posted a Nakba Day video, produced by City Hall, that presented a one-sided view of Israel’s War of Independence. Jewish leaders condemned the video as “propaganda” and refused to attend a Shavuot event hosted by Mamdani in response.

Last week, he backed legislation that seeks to strip nonprofit status from charities linked to West Bank “settlement activity.” Jewish groups have said similar bills introduced in the past would effectively outlaw a swathe of Jewish charities, like social service groups, that operate across the Green Line, without boosting settlements.

Tuesday’s protest followed another Jewish community demonstration earlier this month against New York Times coverage of Israel seen as biased, inaccurate and inflammatory. Attendees at the protest repeatedly said they feared the coverage would incite violence against Jews.

The two demonstrations reflected a mainstream Jewish community increasingly frustrated by anti-Zionist activity that it views as discriminatory and dangerous.