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Rabbis Tell Mayor Mamdani His Israel Rhetoric Is Harming New York Jews

The private City Hall session tests whether direct outreach can rebuild trust as anti‑Jewish hate crimes have risen.

Overview

  • The mayor held an hour-long closed-door roundtable at City Hall with 10 rabbis Monday to discuss antisemitism and community safety.
  • Participants from Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist and Modern Orthodox synagogues told Mamdani his frequent and harsh public criticism of Israel is harming Jewish New Yorkers and making cooperation harder.
  • Rabbis urged the mayor to change the tone and frequency of his Israel comments and to shift the public conversation toward concrete areas for collaboration on safety and shared projects.
  • Meeting participants said Mamdani listened and pledged to reflect with his team while City Hall described the discussion as open, positive and constructive.
  • The outreach comes as NYPD data cited in reporting show anti‑Jewish hate crimes rose 8.5% in the mayor’s first seven months and made up 57% of reported hate crimes, and some major rabbinic organizations said they were not invited to the roundtable.