Mainstream Jewish groups offer mixed response to Mamdani antisemitism plan, criticizing disregard of anti-Zionism

Mainstream Jewish groups praise some parts of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to combat antisemitism, but criticize the outline for neglecting anti-Zionism and hatred related to Israel.

The UJA-Federation of New York, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, the American Jewish Committee’s office in New York and the New York Board of Rabbis — all leading mainstream groups in the city — say the plan “has a number of positive elements, including some increased security funding for Jewish institutions and expanding proven programs.”

The statement says, though, that the plan “fails to address a central issue that the Mayor himself has perpetuated: rhetoric that demonizes and delegitimizes Israel inevitably leads to the targeting of Jewish New Yorkers.”

Moshe Davis, the head of City Hall’s Office to Combat Antisemitism under the previous administration, says the plan’s security measures “will greatly help safeguard Jewish New Yorkers against attempted terror attacks carried out by those seeking to ‘globalize the intifada.'”

“The latest report seems to ignore anti-Israel protesters targeting synagogues and the hate being taught in our educational spaces,” Davis adds. “In doing this, it seems to make a conscious effort to erase the connection between the violence against Jews we are seeing in our city and the anti-Israel propaganda clearly fueling it.”

City Councilmember Eric Dinowitz, a co-chair of the council’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, says, “There is much to welcome in the Mayor’s strategy, particularly its focus on education, prevention, and ensuring Jewish New Yorkers can live openly and proudly in our city.”

“This strategy, however, misses an opportunity to confront the reality of the intersection between anti-Zionism and antisemitism,” Dinowitz says. “We cannot ignore that attacking or excluding ‘Zionists’ can and has become a convenient way to disguise antisemitism as political disagreement.”

Leftist Jewish groups praise the initiative.

“Mayor Mamdani’s strategy is rooted in an important recognition that confronting antisemitism is a critical part of the wider struggle against bigotry,” Jonathan Jacoby, the head of the Nexus Project, says in a statement. “Jews have always thrived in pluralistic democracies. When we defend one another and build a society where no group can be singled out for discrimination, we’re all safer and more secure.”