{"id":124290,"date":"2026-02-05T20:28:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T20:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/124290\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T20:28:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T20:28:11","slug":"jewish-groups-pull-out-of-nyc-mayors-interfaith-breakfast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/124290\/","title":{"rendered":"Jewish groups pull out of NYC Mayor’s interfaith breakfast"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zohran Mamdani<\/a> is set to host the mayor\u2019s interfaith breakfast on Friday, keeping alive an annual tradition that brings together hundreds of religious leaders – but Jewish involvement in the event will look different this time around.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because at least three groups that have sponsored the last few editions of the event – UJA-Federation of New York, the New York Board of Rabbis, and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) – are not sponsoring this year\u2019s.<\/p>\n

The ADL elaborates on its decision<\/p>\n

UJA and the New York Board of Rabbis did not confirm why they are not sponsoring, nor whether the mayor\u2019s office reached out about sponsoring; a City Hall spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n

But a local ADL<\/a> director said that the group was not given a choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor years, ADL has proudly sponsored the NYC Mayor\u2019s annual Interfaith Breakfast as a vital opportunity to build bridges and foster understanding across New York City\u2019s diverse faith communities. This year, ADL was not invited to attend,\u201d said Scott Richman, regional director of ADL New York and New Jersey.<\/p>\n

\"ADLADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt speaks onstage at ADL’s Never Is Now conference on March 3, 2025 in New York City. (credit: Bryan Bedder\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

He continued, \u201cWhile a breakfast itself does not ultimately matter, protecting every Jewish New Yorker does. We call on Mayor Mamdani to serve the entire Jewish community, especially in this time when violent antisemitism is surging.\u201d<\/p>\n

After this story was first published, the ADL clarified that it had declined to sponsor the event before failing to receive an invitation.<\/p>\n

Mamdani has had a contentious relationship with the ADL, which established a \u201cMamdani monitor\u201d to track his policies and personnel appointments, and whose leader, Jonathan Greenblatt, inaccurately accused Mamdani of never having visited a synagogue.<\/p>\n

The breakfast sees new contributors\u00a0<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s unclear whether Mamdani\u2019s team invited other groups like UJA and NYBR, what is apparent is that the event, and the Jewish groups involved in it, reflect a broader shift in which progressive-leaning Jewish organizations have a greater role in New York City politics than they did under Adams.<\/p>\n

Left-wing group Jews for Racial and Economic Justice confirmed that it will co-sponsor the event, which it has never previously done. New York Jewish Agenda, a progressive advocacy group, is also sponsoring – and its outgoing leader, Phylisa Wisdom, is expected to make her first public appearance as executive director of the Mayor\u2019s Office to Combat Antisemitism<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Marc Schneier, a vocal critic of both Mamdani and his choice of Wisdom, said he is declining the mayor\u2019s invitation to attend.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will not attend a public forum in support of a mayor who continues to bifurcate Israel from the Jewish community,\u201d he said, adding that he would be \u201caghast\u201d if groups like the UJA, NYBR and ADL \u201cwere to support this interfaith breakfast\u201d because of Mamdani\u2019s anti-Zionism<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Others who have been critical of Mamdani are still planning to attend.<\/p>\n

Elliot Cosgrove, the senior rabbi of Park Avenue Synagogue who spoke out against Mamdani and endorsed Andrew Cuomo during the election, said he intends to go. He said he was unaware of the event\u2019s past or present sponsorship.<\/p>\n

The Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and Sephardic Community Federation have been among the sponsoring groups in past years. Neither organization responded to questions about whether they were involved this year, nor did a Mamdani spokesperson.<\/p>\n

\"Demonstrators,Demonstrators, including Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, right, hold up a sign in support of immigrants as New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks during the annual Interfaith Breakfast at the New York Public Library, Jan. 30, 2025. (credit: YUKI IWAMURA\/AFP via Getty Images)History of the interfaith breakfast<\/p>\n

The mayor\u2019s interfaith breakfast, established as an annual tradition by Mike Bloomberg in 2002, usually draws more than 300 religious leaders from across the city. It\u2019s been the subject of political dissent in the past, such as when about a dozen Muslim leaders boycotted Bloomberg\u2019s breakfast amid accusations of police surveillance of Muslim communities.<\/p>\n

Adams made headlines at a 2023 breakfast when he dismissed the need to separate church and state. He gave a \u201ccampaign-style speech\u201d last year that focused on his upbringing and ability to face criticism as mayor.<\/p>\n

A press release from City Hall for this year\u2019s event did not include a list of sponsoring organizations or speakers but said that the breakfast, held at the New York Public Library\u2019s flagship building, would \u201cbring together faith leaders from across the five boroughs to honor the city\u2019s religious, spiritual, and cultural diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Zohran Mamdani is set to host the mayor\u2019s interfaith breakfast on Friday, keeping alive an annual tradition that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":124291,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[18625,3862,7173,6303,9,24,56,63,65,64,36298,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-124290","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-adl","9":"tag-antisemitism","10":"tag-antizionism","11":"tag-interfaith","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-new-york-city","14":"tag-ny","15":"tag-nyc","16":"tag-nyc-headlines","17":"tag-nyc-news","18":"tag-uja","19":"tag-zohran-mamdani"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}