(New York Jewish Week) \u2014 New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s administration plans to boost the security of Jewish institutions, expand Holocaust education and celebrate Jewish New Yorkers\u2019 contributions to the city as part of what he called a comprehensive plan to combat antisemitism.<\/p>\n
The city will immediately designate $1 million toward supporting \u201cthe physical security of vulnerable nonprofit organizations, including synagogues and other houses of worship,\u201d and allocate another $6.4 million to grants under its Partners Against the Hate initiative.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis Strategy is neither the beginning nor the end of this work,\u201d wrote Phylisa Wisdom, executive director of Mamdani\u2019s Office to Combat Antisemitism, in a 35-page strategy document released on Sept. 28. \u201cBut it is an important milestone: a clear commitment from New York City government and a roadmap for the meaningful work ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mamdani has had a tense relationship with segments of the city\u2019s Jewish community over his long-held criticism of Israel. In a video accompanying the strategy\u2019s launch, Mamdani called the plan \u201ca roadmap for how our administration will confront the scourge of antisemitism now and in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
The report was modeled in part after the national strategy to combat antisemitism released by then-President Joe Biden in May 2023. Similar to the Biden White House\u2019s strategy, the New York City plan does not adopt a single definition of antisemitism but rather acknowledges a few different definitions \u2014\u00a0those of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism and the Nexus Document.<\/p>\n
Critics of the IHRA definition say that it wrongly categorizes some criticism of Israel as antisemitism. The Nexus Document, meanwhile, says that most Israel criticism is not inherently antisemitic.<\/p>\n
One of Mamdani\u2019s first acts as mayor was revoking an executive order signed by his predecessor, Eric Adams, that adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism for the city and municipal agencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew York City can and will leverage all of the tools at its disposal to combat antisemitism effectively without needing to adopt a definition for this specific form of hate,\u201d the strategy reads.<\/p>\n
Jamie Beran, CEO of the progressive group Bend the Arc, commended the decision not to enshrine a single definition and said that doing so would be \u201cboth unnecessary and often a distraction from substantive policies,\u201d in a statement put out by the mayor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
The Anti-Defamation League, which has been critical of Mamdani and his lack of support for the IHRA definition of antisemitism, had called for a \u201cclear, formal definition of antisemitism the city actually uses\u201d to be part of the plan, as well as ensuring that city contracts, pensions and procurements are kept \u201cfree of ideological boycotts.\u201d The ADL\u2019s demands were not met in the strategy released on Sept. 28.<\/p>\n
In addition to investments in hate crime prevention, the strategy also outlines investments in cultural and communal institutions that will help \u201c[p]reserve New York City as a special place to be Jewish.\u201d City Hall is investing $2.5 million in The Center for New Jewish Culture, the report reads, and is making a previously reported $2 million capital investment in the design and construction of a Holocaust memorial at Queens Borough Hall.<\/p>\n
The strategy calls for an increase in public school trips to the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the city\u2019s flagship Holocaust museum. It also says it will launch a campaign recognizing the contributions of Jewish New Yorkers on the LinkNYC kiosks around the city and in \u201cother public places.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brad Lander, the Democratic nominee for New York\u2019s 10th Congressional District and one of Mamdani\u2019s most prominent Jewish allies, applauded the strategy in a statement distributed by the mayor\u2019s office, saying it was something Jews of all stripes could agree on.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s no secret that we don\u2019t all agree on many things, from how we pray to how we relate to Israel,\u201d Lander said, \u201cbut we can all agree and work together on this: Jewish New Yorkers \u2014 like all New Yorkers, and in all our diversity \u2014 deserve to be and feel safe in our shuls, streets, homes and workplaces.\u201d<\/p>\n
The launch of this strategy comes nearly eight months after Mamdani appointed Wisdom to lead the mayor\u2019s office to combat antisemitism, which Adams founded last year.<\/p>\n
Wisdom told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in February that the office would be embarking on a \u201clistening tour\u201d to understand the concerns of a diverse set of Jewish New Yorkers and devising a strategy from that tour in time for the High Holidays.<\/p>\n
The Anti-Defamation League, which has been critical of Mamdani, panned his administration one day after Rosh Hashanah for not having a strategy published.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe delay from the @NYCMayor\u2019s office to combat antisemitism is unacceptable, especially coming off 2025, when New York City recorded more antisemitic incidents than any other city in the country,\u201d the organization\u2019s local branch wrote on X.<\/p>\n
As one of the seven listed objectives, the administration says it will conduct \u201cregular and robust engagement with Jewish New Yorkers across the ideological spectrum so the Mamdani administration can better serve Jewish communities and help Jewish New Yorkers live lives of dignity free from hate.\u201d<\/p>\n