Jews have long been accused of conspiracies, warmongering, financial deviance and pulling the strings of power from the shadows.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n After accusations that the comments deployed historical antisemitic tropes, Mamdani doubled down<\/a>.<\/p>\n The rabbis\u2019 letter said the rhetoric was dehumanizing, and that \u201cwhen the targets of that dehumanization are overwhelmingly associated with the Jewish community the consequences become especially dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n Antisemitism tends to turn violent when Jews are both seen as a threat and dehumanized, they charged.<\/p>\n \u201cMamdani\u2019s words invoke a familiar story about Jewish power, Jewish money and Jewish manipulation of public life,\u201d the letter said. \u201cBy casting pro-Israel civic participation as monstrous, conspiratorial and anti-democratic, Mr. Mamdani has put a target on the backs of American Jews and their allies.\u201d<\/p>\n Signatories included representatives of prominent New York congregations, including the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, Temple Emanu-El, Temple Israel of the City of New York, the Lincoln Square Synagogue, Romemu, Kehilath Jeshurun and Park Avenue Synagogue.<\/p>\n The rabbis cited recent deadly violence against Jews in Colorado and Washington, DC, and violent plots targeting AIPAC that were thwarted by law enforcement.<\/p>\n \t Mainstream Jewish organizations such as the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League, which are often at odds with Mamdani, denounced his speech, as well as leftist Jewish groups<\/a> who are more sympathetic to the mayor.<\/p>\n New York City Council member Eric Dinowitz, a moderate Democrat who chairs the city\u2019s Jewish Caucus and Bipartisan Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, said<\/a> the statements \u201cinvoked age-old antisemitic tropes while ignoring the reality of super PAC spending across our political system.\u201d<\/p>\n The rabbis\u2019 letter also decried a \u201cdouble standard\u201d when it comes to AIPAC, pointing out that US politics are awash in spending from groups like corporations, ideological super PACs and business groups.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the outrage is reserved for pro-Israel advocacy, and when that advocacy is described with language of hidden money, secret control and sinister power, it gives the appearance of antisemitism. Worse, it places Jews in danger,\u201d the letter said, demanding an apology from Mamdani.<\/p>\n \u201cCriticizing Israeli policy is not antisemitic. Treating millions of Zionist Jews as morally suspect, politically illegitimate or less deserving of equal participation in public life is,\u201d the rabbis said.<\/p>\n The letter follows a Jewish Majority poll<\/a> last month that found that the vast majority of Jewish New Yorkers, 82 percent, said they were very or somewhat concerned about the rise of antisemitism in the city, and 17% said they were only slightly or not at all concerned.<\/p>\n \t Anti-Zionism was seen as a contributor to antisemitism, with 58% of respondents stating that the rise in antisemitism was \u201clinked to the normalization of anti-Zionism,\u201d while 25% disagreed.<\/p>\n Mamdani has pledged to fight discrimination against Jews and has repeatedly condemned \u201cclassic\u201d antisemitism, such as swastika graffiti, but does not recognize<\/a> any rhetoric that touches on Israel or Zionism as discriminatory. Polls have repeatedly found that a vast majority of Jews feel connected to Israel.<\/p>\n After the Anti-Defamation League found<\/a> last year that some of his appointees had made anti-Zionist statements, including that \u201cZionism is racism,\u201d calling Zionism a \u201cgenocidal ideology,\u201d and stating that Zionists are worse than Nazis, Mamdani defended the rhetoric.<\/p>\n \u201cWe must distinguish between antisemitism and criticism of the Israeli government,\u201d he said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mamdani has identified as an anti-Zionist and has framed anti-Zionism as an oppressive \u201cmodern political movement\u201d that is separate from Judaism. Opposing political movements is not considered discriminatory in the US.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are often tarred with the characterization of being antisemitic, and let\u2019s be clear \u2014 anti-Zionism is not antisemitism,\u201d Mamdani told<\/a> a crowd in 2023. \u201cWe will not be scared into believing that it is because we know that this is a politically motivated charge seeking to silence us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident \u2013 ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded \u2013 I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.<\/p>\n There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.<\/p>\n As a Times of Israel reporter, I\u2019m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit\u2019s. But my colleagues and I can’t do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.<\/p>\n \u2014 Stav Levaton, military reporter<\/p>\n \t\t\t
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\n\t\tMourners outside the White House after the murder of two Israeli embassy staffers, in Washington, DC, May 22, 2025. (Luke Tress\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260505_untitled_05654.jpg\")
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\n\t\tProtesters against anti-Zionism, in New York City, May 5, 2026. (Luke Tress\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n
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