{"id":994881,"date":"2026-08-11T18:49:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T18:49:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/994881\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T18:49:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T18:49:52","slug":"nyc-rabbis-mayor-mamdanis-israel-comments-making-jews-feel-unsafe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/994881\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC rabbis: Mayor Mamdani’s Israel comments making Jews feel unsafe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two rabbis who attended New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/a>\u2019s hour-long, closed-door roundtable at City Hall on Monday said they left feeling \u201chopeful\u201d and that the mayor attended in \u201cgood faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

The meeting \u2013 convened by the Mayor\u2019s Office to Combat Antisemitism \u2013 featured 10 rabbis from various Jewish denominations. The Jerusalem Post reached out to several rabbis who participated, including Rabbi Jonathan Leener, leader of the Prospect Heights Shul, a liberal Modern Orthodox synagogue in Brooklyn<\/a>, and Rabbi \u201cS,\u201d who did not wish to be named.<\/p>\n

\u201cI chose to participate in the roundtable given the opportunity to represent my community\u2019s views directly to the mayor,\u201d Rabbi S told the Post. \u201cOne of the organizers assured us that we would all have a chance to speak, so the opportunity to really be there on behalf of my community was a meaningful one, and I felt that the outreach was made in good faith with an openness to listen, so it felt worth going to express our points of view and raise our concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rabbi Leener had a similar incentive: \u201cAs a rabbi, I see my role as an advocate for the safety and well-being of the Jewish people, especially my fellow New Yorkers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leener said he has profound disagreements with Mamdani, particularly around Israel, and that some of the mayor\u2019s rhetoric has contributed to \u201cturning up the temperature at a moment when many Jewish New Yorkers already feel increasingly vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Pro-PalestinianPro-Palestinian activists march as they take part in a protest on Nakba Day on May 15, 2026 in New York City; Illustrative. (credit: Adam Gray\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is precisely why I felt it was important to show up and say those things directly to him,\u201d he said. \u201cThe meeting was also an opportunity to move beyond public statements and talk concretely about what the city government can do to address antisemitism and help Jewish New Yorkers feel safer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roundtable focused on Mamdani’s contributions to rising NYC antisemitism<\/strong><\/p>\n

The predominant focus of the roundtable, from what both rabbis conveyed to the Post, was the rising antisemitism<\/a> in NYC and the way in which the mayor\u2019s hostility toward Israel has contributed to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe message that was sent by everybody, each in their own way, to the mayor was that while we may agree or disagree with the current actions of the Israeli government or the current war, that the mayor\u2019s harsh rhetoric around Israel and its government and the mayor\u2019s continual singling out and excessive focus on Israel \u2013 when there are so many other things going on in our city and beyond \u2013 was alienating to our constituents, makes Jewish New Yorkers feel that the mayor is not for them, and makes them feel unsafe,\u201d Rabbi S recalled.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe reiterated that it is hard to feel a sense of partnership when it feels like Israel is being singled out for harsh rhetoric attacks and the mayor is doing nothing to distinguish between Israel and New York City<\/a>\u2019s Jews,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

He said each rabbi tried to express this same point to the mayor \u201cin the hopes of him taking that to heart\u201d and upholding his pledge to be a mayor for all New Yorkers and help them feel safe.<\/p>\n

Leener told the Post that while there were \u201ccertainly moments of tension and passion,\u201d these were \u201cexpressed respectfully.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one was there trying to convince the mayor to change his views on Israel,\u201d he said. \u201cRather, people were trying to convey how isolated and vulnerable many Jewish New Yorkers feel and the extent to which some believe [Mamdani\u2019s] rhetoric and the singling out of Israel have contributed to that feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Rabbi S, Leener said concerns were raised several times about Mamdani\u2019s perceived \u201cdouble standard\u201d when it comes to Israel, and that \u201cIsrael and the Jewish community\u2019s relationship to Israel are sometimes treated in ways that other communities and their connections to countries or homelands are not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside of Mamdani\u2019s own contribution to rising antisemitism, both rabbis told the Post that there was broad consensus that Jew-hatred is making the city unsafe.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere seemed to be broad agreement about the seriousness of the security concerns facing Jewish institutions and the need for the city government to respond to them,\u201d Leener said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was also a shared desire for the administration to better understand what Jewish New Yorkers are experiencing right now. The vulnerability and anxiety within the community were very real themes throughout the conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n

NYC rabbis: Roundtable properly represented New York Jewish community<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite past criticisms of Mamdani for choosing to associate with select sects of Judaism \u2013 especially left-wing, progressive, and anti-Zionist ones \u2013 both rabbis told the Post that \u201cthere was tremendous diversity around the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI really do think it was a good representation of New York\u2019s Jewish community,\u201d Rabbi S said. \u201cIt\u2019s impossible to get all segments, but the major denominations were there, and there was representation from a fair amount, geographically, of New York City.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leener concurred: \u201cI thought there was a thoughtful range of voices in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, no small group of rabbis can fully represent the extraordinary diversity of New York\u2019s Jewish community,\u201d he continued. \u201cBut people came from different communities, institutions, and points of view, and I thought that contributed to a substantive conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leener said that part of the power of the meeting was its intimacy, as a smaller group created space for a more candid and meaningful exchange. He also said that, from his understanding, there are to be additional conversations in the future.<\/p>\n

Both rabbis said they came away with the impression that the mayor was there to listen and was open to suggestions.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was respectful in his responses and frequently asked clarifying questions to better understand what people were saying,\u201d Leener said. \u201cI felt that he was genuinely engaging with us, acting in good faith, and listening carefully to our concerns, particularly our plea to help turn down the temperature.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know some will view that as simply part of his political skill or personal charm, and I understand that skepticism. But my honest read of both him and the room was that the engagement felt genuine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rabbi S spoke similarly of Mamdani\u2019s approach: \u201cThe mayor listened, asked some clarifying questions, and expressed that he appreciated the good faith conversation and that he took our words to heart.<\/p>\n

While Rabbi S said he truly does not know what to expect going forward, he nevertheless felt grateful to be in the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there was really strong consensus about that, despite people\u2019s different views about Israel, and there was also a consensus that there\u2019s a desire to work with the mayor on other issues of concern like affordability, childcare, and healthcare. A number of people raised immigration, and the mayor acknowledged these as issues of common cause and concern,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Leener told the Post he left feeling \u201ccautiously hopeful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciated that the administration invited us in, listened, and created space for a candid and substantive conversation. But ultimately, I will judge the mayor and his administration by their actions and by the results they deliver,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For Leener, one concrete test will be whether the Jewish community sees meaningful progress around security, including making NYPD presence more accessible to synagogues, Jewish schools, and other Jewish institutions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope the conversation leads to greater understanding, a lowering of the temperature, and ultimately concrete action,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat stayed with me most was the value of being in actual conversation. Our political climate has made it increasingly difficult to speak openly with people with whom we profoundly disagree, as though simply sitting down, listening, or engaging somehow means abandoning our convictions. I believe the opposite is true,\u201d Leener continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remain a staunch supporter of Israel and have profound disagreements with the mayor that were not resolved by this meeting. But we can hold deeply to our beliefs while remaining in real conversation with one another. In fact, that is often how greater understanding becomes possible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two rabbis who attended New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s hour-long, closed-door roundtable at City Hall on Monday…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":994882,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[12648,26813,8921,99,12176,403,50,23529,5301],"class_list":["post-994881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-antisemitism","tag-antizionism","tag-diaspora","tag-israel","tag-mayor","tag-new-york-city","tag-news","tag-rabbi","tag-zohran-mamdani"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117078383217255262","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/994881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=994881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/994881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/994882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=994881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=994881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=994881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}