New York rabbis from different denominations say they asked New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to tone down his anti-Israel rhetoric during a private meeting at City Hall last night.
Mamdani has repeatedly assailed Israel in recent months as antisemitic hate crimes have climbed.
Mamdani spoke with 10 rabbis, including progressives who are critical of Israel, who told him that the comments were harmful.
“There was no tiptoeing around the elephant in the room,” Rabbi Jonathan Leener, the head of a liberal Modern Orthodox synagogue, tells The New York Times. “The mayor’s comments have ramifications, and he needs to be aware of how, in the current climate, that just adds to the temperature and creates an environment that I think a lot of Jews feel vulnerable in.”
“Everyone agreed that the current course can’t go on,” Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the head of the Union for Reform Judaism, tells The Forward. “The way he vilifies Israel, and so constantly, is really causing harm.”
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