Consider all the many other policies that have taken precedence since Mamdani took office on Jan. 1; how his pro-Palestine rhetoric garnered so much attention on the campaign trail; and how many Jewish New Yorkers were deeply concerned about someone who has refused to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state being mayor of the city with the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.
Mamdani’s plan to fight antisemitism, with all that in mind, was slow to arrive – but in fairness, does offer a clear path toward combating hatred against Jews in a city that has seen a troubling, consistent rise in antisemitism in recent years.
He said the plan came about through months of consultation and conversation with members of the city’s Jewish community, including prominent rabbis leading congregations that include, undoubtedly, people deeply concerned about the safety of their loved ones and themselves in a time when they are targeted by hate.
The mayor, through the Office to Combat Antisemitism and the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, is directing millions of dollars toward security and education programs. He also relaunched an interagency program in which the NYPD and other agencies will interact with congregations on security initiatives.
The strategies also outline ways City Hall will help combat discrimination wherever it arises, celebrate Jewish culture, and fund the construction and programs of Jewish cultural institutions.
“Antisemitism has no place in New York City,” Mamdani affirmed in a statement accompanying the plan’s release on Sept. 29. In an accompanying social media video, he added, “Today we hold a responsibility to sustain and protect our Jewish neighbors, a responsibility that belongs to each of us.”
These words are true. We are counting on City Hall to fully execute each and every step of this strategy to ensure that every Jewish New Yorker once again feels safe, and antisemitism is crushed whenever and wherever it arises. For when antisemitism is universally rebuked and defeated, so too are other forms of hatred against people of other walks of life.
But we are also counting on Mamdani to understand that his own rhetoric on issues related to Israel and Palestine will undermine this strategy, if he isn’t careful.
The mayor may profess that his statements about alleged “genocide” in Gaza to oppose Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists are merely political, but they only serve to embolden those who seek to do Israelis and the Jewish community in New York harm. The haters and bigots do not see Mamdani’s words as political; they see them as permission to lash out and create the very culture of fear the mayor now seeks to stop.
Everyone, as the mayor said, is responsible for doing their part “to sustain and protect our Jewish neighbors.” No one more so than Mamdani himself.