![\"Protesters](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1764518767_721_2025-11-19T195959Z_1441084786_MT1ZUMA000U426K0_RTRMADP_3_ZUMA.jpg\" "\\"Prominent")
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Pro Palestinian protesters rally outside of a synagogue, to protest an organization that promotes Aliyah to Israel, as counter protesters gather in opposition. <\/p>\n
Photo by Yoav Ginsburg\/ZUMA Press Wire<\/p>\n
A prominent New York rabbi is calling on Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to push for legislative action that would prohibit demonstrations from being held directly outside houses of worship.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rabbi Marc Schneier, president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding<\/a> based in NYC, said he had a \u201cproductive\u201d conversation with Mamdani less than two days after the headline-making, chaotic protest outside the Upper East Side\u2019s Park East Synagogue<\/a> on Nov. 19.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pro-Palestine demonstrators gathered that evening to oppose a scheduled event at the synagogue by Nefesh B\u2019Nefesh<\/a>, an organization that assists Jewish immigration to Israel. The protesters uttered slurs such as \u201cGlobalize the Intifada\u201d and \u201cDeath to the IDF,\u201d leaving many Jewish and non-Jewish New Yorkers outraged. Days after the protest, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch apologized<\/a> to the Park East congregation for her department\u2019s failure to stop the demonstration effectively.<\/p>\n The mayor-elect had contacted Schneier, a global leader in interfaith diplomacy, as he was en route to meet with President Donald Trump on Nov. 21. The phone call came amid outrage from New Yorkers who called Mamdani\u2019s initial response to the protest outside Park East Synagogue \u201cweak\u201d and deeply troubling.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s office transition team confirmed to amNewYork that the phone conversation took place last week, but did not elaborate further on the details.\n<\/p>\n During the phone call, Schneier suggested that the mayor-elect support legislation that would bar demonstrations directly outside houses of worship. Mamdani, the rabbi explained, responded positively to the idea.<\/p>\n \u201cI said, \u2018When you become mayor, why don\u2019t you pass legislation that would forbid any protest or demonstration in front of a house of worship, whether it\u2019s a synagogue, church, mosque,\u2019\u201d the rabbi explained to amNewYork. \u201cHe told me, \u2018Rabbi, I love the idea and I can\u2019t thank you enough.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Schneier, whose father, Rabbi Arthur Schneier, runs the Park East Synagogue, described Mamdani\u2019s response to the demonstration as a \u201chalf-baked\u201d condemnation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dora Pekec, Mamdani\u2019s spokesperson, issued a statement that seemed to further fuel outrage over the protest. While she indicated that Mamdani \u201cdiscouraged the language used,\u201d she nonetheless implied that the event inside the synagogue promoted \u201cactivities in violation of international law.\u201d<\/p>\n Pekec\u2019s statement did not directly condemn the rhetoric used during the protest, and the implication of an international law violation only added to the anger many Jewish and non-Jewish New Yorkers felt over the episode.ged.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cInstead of condemning the protestors, Mamdani\u2019s spokesperson victim-blamed the members of the synagogue by making the absurd claim that the synagogue program broke international law,\u201d Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in Manhattan said. \u201cAnd she refused to condemn the protesters, only offering the vapid, mealy-mouthed thought that the mayor had \u2018discouraged\u2019 such rhetoric in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n A possible meeting with Muslim leaders<\/p>\n Although the conversation between the two leaders was pleasant, Schneier did not shy away from addressing Mamdani\u2019s past criticisms of Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI said to him, \u2018Not only are you out of touch with the Jewish community, but you\u2019re out of touch with the Islamic world,\u2019\u201d he explained. \u201cI mentioned countries like Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, they all support a two-state solution, \u2018and you refuse to recognize Israel\u2019s right to exist.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Schneier also told Mamdani that he could introduce the Mayor-elect to several leaders in the Muslim world who have forged peace with Israel and those who are preparing to do so. He explained that private meetings could help him better understand Israel, anti-Zionist rhetoric and the impact such language has on Jewish communities, such as in NYC, home to the largest Jewish community outside of Israel.<\/p>\n The rabbi said Mamdani appeared similarly interested in the idea of meeting with Muslim leaders as he was in supporting the proposed legislation barring protests outside houses of worship.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it piqued his curiosity,\u201d Schneier said. \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone has ever said that to him before.\u201d\n<\/p>\n He added that meeting with Muslim leaders would \u201cbroaden [Mamdani\u2019s] horizons\u201d about relations between Israel and nearby Arab countries.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cI want him to go on a journey with me in terms of learning more about where the Muslim world is today when it comes to Israel, when it comes to a Palestinian state,\u201d the rabbi said. \u201cAll these countries want to see a Palestinian state, but not at the expense of a Jewish state.\u201d<\/p>\n State Sen. Liz Krueger, who represents parts of Midtown and the Upper East Side, said following the protest in her district last week that, \u201cNo one should feel attacked for their religion going into or out of their place of worship.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"man](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/rabbi-schneier-ido-siman-tov.jpeg\" "\\"Prominent")
Rabbi Marc SchneierPhoto by Ido Siman-tov<\/p>\n