Mamdani’s plan to combat antisemitism ‘fails to address’ anti-Israel rhetoric, Jewish groups say

(New York Jewish Week) — New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s strategy to fight antisemitism disappointed parts of the Jewish community, for what they said was a failure to tackle anti-Israel rhetoric.

A number of liberal Jewish organizations and leaders applauded plans announced on Tuesday to boost the security of Jewish institutions, expand Holocaust education and celebrate Jewish New Yorkers’ contributions to the city. But multiple major groups criticized the administration’s initiative for avoiding the matter of Mamdani’s frequent criticism of Israel and any connection between anti-Zionism and antisemitism.

“While the Mayor’s plan has a number of positive elements, including some increased security funding for Jewish institutions and expanding proven programs, it 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,” a number of organizations wrote in a statement.

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Groups who signed off on the statement included UJA-Federation of New York, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, the local branch of the American Jewish Committee, and the New York Board of Rabbis.

The city will immediately designate $1 million toward supporting “the physical security of vulnerable nonprofit organizations, including synagogues and other houses of worship,” and allocate another $6.4 million to grants under its Partners Against the Hate initiative.

“This Strategy is neither the beginning nor the end of this work,” wrote Phylisa Wisdom, executive director of Mamdani’s office to combat antisemitism, in a 35-page strategy document released on Tuesday. “But it is an important milestone: a clear commitment from New York City government and a roadmap for the meaningful work ahead.”

Mamdani has had a tense relationship with segments of the city’s Jewish community over his long-held, staunchly critical Israel stance. In a video accompanying the strategy’s launch, Mamdani called the plan “a roadmap for how our administration will confront the scourge of antisemitism now and in the future.”

The report listed a number of statistics to show the rise in antisemitism both in the city and nationally, as well as polling numbers showing Jews’ concerns about antisemitism. 

The report was modeled in part after the national strategy to combat antisemitism released by then-President Joe Biden in May 2023. Similar to the Biden White House’s strategy, the New York City plan does not adopt a single definition of antisemitism but rather acknowledges a few different definitions — those of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism and the Nexus Document. 

Critics of the IHRA definition say that it wrongly categorizes some criticism of Israel as antisemitism. The Nexus Document, meanwhile, says that most Israel criticism is not inherently antisemitic.

One of Mamdani’s first acts as mayor was revoking an executive order signed by his predecessor, Eric Adams, that adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism for the city and municipal agencies.

“New York City can and will leverage all of the tools at its disposal to combat antisemitism effectively without needing to adopt a definition for this specific form of hate,” the strategy reads.

Jamie Beran, CEO of the progressive group Bend the Arc, commended the decision not to enshrine a single definition and said that doing so would be “both unnecessary and often a distraction from substantive policies,” in a statement put out by the mayor’s office. 

The Anti-Defamation League, which has been critical of Mamdani and his lack of support for the IHRA definition of antisemitism, had called for a “clear, formal definition of antisemitism the city actually uses” to be part of the plan, as well as ensuring that city contracts, pensions and procurements are kept “free of ideological boycotts.”

The ADL criticized the strategy for not meeting its demands on Tuesday, and said in a statement that Mamdani “does not treat the hate facing Jewish New Yorkers as an emergency and refuses to acknowledge the different shapes it takes.”

In addition to investments in hate crime prevention, the strategy also outlines investments in cultural and communal institutions that will help “[p]reserve New York City as a special place to be Jewish.” City Hall is investing $2.5 million in The Center for New Jewish Culture, the report reads, and is making a previously reported $2 million capital investment in the design and construction of a Holocaust memorial at Queens Borough Hall.

The strategy calls for an increase in public school trips to the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the city’s flagship Holocaust museum. It also says it will launch a campaign recognizing the contributions of Jewish New Yorkers on the LinkNYC kiosks around the city and in “other public places.”

The plan was rolled out with support from several left-leaning Jewish organizations including Bend the Arc, New York Jewish Agenda, Nexus Project, J Street’s New York chapter, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice and New Jewish Narrative.

Brad Lander, the Democratic nominee for New York’s 10th Congressional District and one of Mamdani’s most prominent Jewish allies, applauded the strategy in a statement distributed by the mayor’s office, saying it was something Jews of all stripes could agree on.

“It’s no secret that we don’t all agree on many things, from how we pray to how we relate to Israel,” Lander said, “but we can all agree and work together on this: Jewish New Yorkers — like all New Yorkers, and in all our diversity — deserve to be and feel safe in our shuls, streets, homes and workplaces.”

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, applauded a number of the initiatives outlined in the strategy, but echoed criticisms about Israel rhetoric.

“For this effort to be effective, Mayor Mamdani must also commit to stopping his harsh anti-Israel rhetoric that makes Jewish New Yorkers vulnerable as there are clearly times when antisemitic attacks are fueled by anti-Zionism,” Jacobs said in a statement to JTA.

The Jewish Democratic Council of America said it welcomes the newly announced plan, and called it “an important step in the fight against rising antisemitism.”

The launch of this strategy comes nearly eight months after Mamdani appointed Wisdom to lead the mayor’s office to combat antisemitism, which Adams founded last year. PJC

This story has been updated to add reaction from the Jewish community to Mamdani’s plan to fight antisemitism.