The head of a national Jewish civil rights group urged the candidates running for New York City mayor to address unrelenting antisemitism during Wednesday night’s second and final debate before the Nov. 4 election.
“At a time when antisemitic incidents in NYC have reached unprecedented levels, we hope that leaders at all levels of government are unequivocal in condemning antisemitism,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told The Post.
“We call on all candidates in the upcoming election to clearly address questions during this week’s mayoral debate about how they will protect New York’s Jewish community.”
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt is urging NYC mayoral candidates Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa to address unrelenting antisemitism during Wednesday’s second and final debate before the election. via REUTERS
Democratic nominee and front-runner Zohran Mamdani faces off against ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, running as an independent, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa in the debate airing at 7 p.m. on NY1.
Questions ADL wants NYC mayoral candidates to answer at debate
In 2024, the NYPD reported that 54% of all hate crimes targeted Jewish New Yorkers. As mayor, what will you do to ensure the safety of your Jewish constituents?
Do you have a message for Jewish New Yorkers who are understandably anxious about the surge in antisemitic incidents in NYC?
What is your response to Jewish New Yorkers who consider the phrase ‘globalize the intifada’ to be a call for violence against Israelis/Jews worldwide?
Greenblatt issued the plea Wednesday while the ADL released a preliminary analysis compiling hundreds of incidents of harassment, vandalism and physical violence targeting members of New York’s Jewish community throughout the five boroughs thus far in 2025.
Recent threats included a would-be attacker who claimed to be “a reincarnation of Adolf Hitler” threatened to kill worshippers at a synagogue in Manhattan on Shabbat and a plot to “slaughter” Jews at a Brooklyn religious center
In February, three separate assaults on Orthodox Jews occurred within 48 hours.
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In June, a Shabbat-observant man was beaten unconscious while the assailant shouted about Gaza.
Also in June, a student was extradited from Canada to the US after threatening to commit an attack at a Jewish center in Brooklyn. He allegedly wrote, “We are going to attack nyc [sic] to slaughter them.”
ADL reported a record-breaking 976 antisemitic incidents in the Big Apple in 2024 and 1,437 total in the Empire State — the most of any city and state in the country. New York has the largest Jewish population in the country and outside of Israel.
Greenblatt told The Post, “At a time when antisemitic incidents in NYC have reached unprecedented levels, we hope that leaders at all levels of government are unequivocal in condemning antisemitism.” Michael Nagle
An official tally of 2025 Jew-hating incidents won’t be released until sometime next year, but the ADL said the trend of incidents is unrelenting — and troubling.
Israel-bashing groups have also targeted synagogues and other Jewish institutions, the ADL reported.
“Extreme anti-Israel groups have played a significant role in creating a hostile environment for the Jewish community,” the report said.
In August, Al-Awda, an extreme anti-Zionist organization which the ADL reports has espoused antisemitic and pro-terror rhetoric, created a map of “Zionist networks,” naming several synagogues and urging encouraging followers to disrupt events at the venues.
“The sheer scale and number of antisemitic activities in New York City this year is alarming,” said Scott Richman, ADL NY/NJ Regional Director.
“From violent attacks on visibly Jewish New Yorkers to threats targeting synagogues and dehumanizing rhetoric on campuses, antisemitism is no longer hiding in the shadows, it is out in the open, and it’s making Jewish New Yorkers feel unsafe in one of the most important centers of Jewish life in the world.”