New Yorkers pushing for Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s removal from office continued their mission outside Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Midtown office on Monday, calling on the gov to begin removal proceedings against NYC’s 112th mayor.
Organized by the #EndJewHatred movement, a group of New Yorkers gathered outside Hochul’s Third Avenue office on June 1, to hand-deliver a letter to the governor that explained why they want the mayor out of office — namely that Mamdani is, in their view, too soft on antisemitism and not doing enough to protect Jewish New Yorkers.
“We’re here to hand-deliver this letter to Governor Hochul,” said Michelle Ahdoot, director of programming strategy at EndJewHatredsaid. “We appreciate that she came out to the [Israel Day] parade yesterday, but words are words. Actions speak much louder than words.”
amNewYork contacted the governor’s office to ask whether she received the letter and, if so, whether she has a response, as well as Mamdani’s office to ask for his response to the letter. The newspaper is awaiting responses from both officials.
Addressing antisemitism
The letter lists what organizers called charges against the mayor, which include his dismantling of the city’s antisemitism protections put in place by former Mayor Eric Adams without replacing them.
“On his first day in office, Mayor Mamdani revoked his predecessor’s executive orders that had adopted the IHRA [International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance] working definition of antisemitism and related contracting guidance,” the letter stated. “The charge is not that any mayor must adopt IHRA; the charge is that he tore down an existing, citywide framework in the middle of a documented crisis.”
The crisis, organizers said, is the rise in antisemitism. On April 2, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch reported that hate crimes rose nearly 12% citywide in the first quarter, with a majority of them being antisemitic. Hate crimes against Jewish New Yorkers have increased since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel.
The group made signs enlarging the letter they sent to Gov. Hochul.Courtesy #EndJewHatred
Although Mamdani erased all of former Mayor Eric Adams’ executive orders after Adams’ federal indictment on Sept. 26, 2024, he has continued the previous administration’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, which is tasked with identifying and developing efforts to combat antisemitism and anti-Jewish hate crimes, supporting victims of antisemitism, and celebrating Jewish culture and traditions. However, the City Council, led by Speaker Julie Menin, has questioned the department’s activities since Jan. 1, 2026.
The letter organizers sent to Hochul also alleged that Mamdani “failed to protect safe access” to Jewish schools, synagogues, and neighborhoods.
“Despite having notice of specific incidents targeting Jewish New Yorkers – and their houses of worship – Mayor Mamdani failed to enforce existing law against obstruction, assault, threats, targeted harassment, vandalism, and trespass even-handedly, resulting in Jewish New Yorkers being afforded lesser protection than anyone else when they attend school, worship, shop, or walk,” the letters stated. “A mayor may defend the right to protest, but he may not let that defense become a reason to underenforce the law for one community.”
Several organizers of the rally delivered remarks, including Muslim women’s rights activist and American Muslim & Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council founder Anila Ali; producer and content creator Zach Sage Fox; Michelle Ahdoot, Director of Programming and Strategy at #EndJewHatred; and Gerard Filitti, Senior Counsel at The Lawfare Project, a nonprofit legal advocacy organization.
Ali said she was at the rally to empower moderate Muslim Americans.
“If we are as Americans, to strengthen American communities, we can not have people in public office, like Mamdani, who divide us,” she said. “That is not how America works. I’m here as a proud Muslim American to say do not divide us. Do not use my religion to condone the people that are intimidating Jewish people going to synagogue, schools, walking the streets.”
Letter follows massive protest outside Gracie Mansion
Ghazal Mizrahi, a singer and activist whose mother escaped the Iranian regime, leaving her whole life behind for freedom in the United States, spoke at the rally.
“She left her whole life behind so me and my sister didn’t have to grow up under the same terror,” Mizrahi said. “After everything my family sacrificed, to see that same terror brought to free and beautiful streets in America, we will not let that happen.”
People protest Mayor Zohran Mamdani at Gracie Maision.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Organizers drafted the letter a day after nearly 1,000 New Yorkers, including those from EndJewHatred, protested near Gracie Mansion on May 26, expressing their opposition to Mamdani as mayor.