New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Tuesday a comprehensive plan to combat antisemitism and hate crimes targeting Jews in the city. It includes increased security funding for synagogues, stronger Jewish history teaching in public schools and greater prominence for important Jewish cultural and religious sites in the city’s day-to-day administration.
Mamdani said the initiative aims to “confront the scourge of antisemitism now and in the future”, explaining that Jews account for only 12% of New York’s population but are victims of about half of the hate crimes recorded there. The mayor added in a video: “This is unacceptable, and we all have a responsibility to change this situation. The city government will take the lead in doing so.”
Funding organisations and awareness campaigns against discrimination
The plan includes increasing grant funding for community organisations working to prevent hate crimes and support survivors. The city also intends to work with public schools to address discrimination complaints, alongside launching public awareness campaigns explaining the city’s Human Rights Law and how to report suspected cases of discrimination.
Mamdani, a Democrat and New York’s first Muslim mayor, pledged to work towards “building a city where New York’s Jews feel safe and are celebrated and valued”. The plan represents his most prominent move so far to address concerns about antisemitism and reassure critics who link his opposition to Israeli policies with a sense of insecurity among some Jews in the city.
Mamdani’s criticism of Israel and concerns in the Jewish community
Mamdani is known for his outspoken support for Palestinian civil rights and has accused the Israeli government of committing genocide in Gaza. The mayor insists that his criticism of Israel does not constitute antisemitism, while his opponents argue that his forceful language about the conflict has fuelled concerns within New York’s Jewish community.
During his election campaign last year, Mamdani faced criticism after refusing to disavow the phrase “globalise the intifada”, which critics regard as a call for violence against Jews. Mamdani did not use the phrase himself, but later said he would discourage others from repeating it.
Election positions and absence from pro-Israel march
His decision to skip an annual march celebrating Israel last June also prompted questions and criticism, as the event had for years been regarded as one that city politicians needed to attend. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu devoted part of his address to the United Nations last week to attacking Mamdani.
He accused him of “spreading lies about Israel” and described him as “New York’s antisemitic mayor”. Mamdani, for his part, has repeatedly called for Netanyahu’s arrest on the basis of the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, which accuses him of committing war crimes in Gaza.
Money cannot buy principles. As long as you do not acknowledge that your rhetoric against the Jewish state, which you refuse to recognise as the homeland of the Jewish people, is the fundamental reason behind the rise in antisemitism in New York City, it will continue to increase
Akunis added: “Truly combating antisemitism requires re-adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, which you abolished as your administration’s first decision on its first day.” The Israeli consul called on Mamdani to urge his supporters to stop chanting the slogans “from the river to the sea” and “globalise the intifada”.
He also urged him to call on them to “condemn the 7 October massacre and designate Hamas a terrorist organisation instead of supporting it”, in his words.
