Mamdani announces campaign to combat antisemitism, pledges millions for Jewish centers

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announces his long-awaited campaign to combat antisemitism.

The Talmud teaches that anyone who sustains one soul, has sustained an entire world. For generations, Jewish New Yorkers have sustained our city. Today, we are launching the first-ever municipal Strategy to Combat Antisemitism.

Together, we will ensure Jewish New Yorkers are… pic.twitter.com/nUpTy7mFlT

— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) September 29, 2026

The project, called the Strategy to Combat Antisemitism, includes funding for hate crime prevention, an interagency working group, and investments in Jewish institutions.

Jews make up around 10 percent of the city’s population and are targeted in half of all confirmed hate crimes in the city, according to NYPD data.

Mamdani says in a video statement that he has been meeting with Jewish New Yorkers for the past year.

“Time and again I’ve heard the same thing: antisemitism is real, and it is growing,” he says. “This is not only unacceptable; it’s something we all have an obligation to change, and City Hall will lead the way.”

Mamdani pledges a $26 million increase in hate crime prevention funding, calling it an 800% increase over last year, which he has announced before.

He says the city will set up an Interagency Security Infrastructure Working Group. He says the group was disbanded in 2024, although his predecessor, Eric Adams, set up a similar antisemitism task force that coordinated between an array of city agencies.

Mamdani also calls the plan the “first-ever municipal Strategy to Combat Antisemitism,” although Adams made a similar announcement when he launched his Office to Combat Antisemitism last year.

Mamdani says the city will invest millions in Jewish cultural centers and nonprofits, including $2 million for the Queens Holocaust Memorial Garden and $2.5 million for Brooklyn’s Center for New Jewish Culture.

“While these efforts are aimed at protecting our Jewish neighbors, they will benefit all New Yorkers. Our safety is bound up together. The Mishnah teaches us that “anyone who sustains one soul, it is as though they have sustained an entire world.’ For generations, Jewish New Yorkers have sustained our city,” he says. “Today, we hold a responsibility to sustain and protect our Jewish neighbors, a responsibility that belongs to each of us.”

Mamdani’s campaign was supposed to have been released on Rosh Hashanah. The reason for the delay was not clear.

The announcement follows a listening tour with the Jewish community led by the head of Mamdani’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, Phylisa Wisdom. Jewish community members reported positive meetings with Wisdom during the tour.

Mamdani did not make any mention of Israel or anti-Zionism in his announcement. He has shown himself willing to condemn classic antisemitism, such as swastika graffiti, but reluctant to speak out against anti-Zionist activity, as his anti-Israel activism has alarmed swaths of the Jewish community.