Dear Mayor-Elect Mamdani,
There is no sugar coating that we have deep and genuine disagreements on the issues that we at American Jewish Committee (AJC) prioritize. I believe it is vital to make clear our views, especially as they are tied to safety, inclusion, and moral responsibility.
You do not believe in Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. We do.
You do not condemn Hamas clearly and consistently as a terrorist organization. We do.
You do not denounce the phrase “Globalize the Intifada,” that calls for violence against Israel and those who support Israel. We do.
We may not be able to change your mind on these issues. However, we will be vigilant in ensuring that New York City government and your position as mayor are not used to hold Israel to a double standard or to attempt to isolate Israel economically in an effort to dismantle the world’s only Jewish state.
In spite of our disagreements, the foremost question now is larger and more immediate: What will you do to protect New York’s Jews?
Our community has been the victim of direct and deadly violence in the streets. We have seen Jews attacked in Midtown for wearing a kippah and subjected to a violent, anti-Israel protest outside of synagogues. They have been harassed for carrying an Israeli flag, and murdered elsewhere in the country, including outside of one of AJC’s events, for no reason other than being Jewish. These attacks are personal to us and we know how easily they are fueled by rhetoric that dehumanizes Israel and, by extension, Jews.
As the city’s highest elected official, your words will carry weight across every neighborhood and beyond the city’s limits. They can calm tensions, or inflame them.
Hate crimes against Jews have surged in New York since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 – about one per day on average. According to the NYPD, antisemitic incidents have accounted for more than half of all hate crimes in the city for several years running. Concerns around antisemitic violence have shaped how Jewish New Yorkers live, travel, and worship.
Your pledge to quadruple funding to combat hate crimes is commendable. That funding must be deployed strategically and used to support law enforcement and community partnerships. We hope you will follow through on your stated intent to retain Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, as her steady leadership and professionalism have strengthened New Yorkers’ confidence in their safety.
These are the actions of a mayor who understands the security needs of our city.
As you know, New York is home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel. That reality gives your administration a non-negotiable responsibility: to protect Jewish safety, defend Jewish institutions, and affirm through deeds—not only words—that Jewish life is an inseparable part of this city’s identity.
We will engage with your administration when partnership serves the interests of Jewish New Yorkers and the broader good of the city. We will also speak out boldly when conscience demands it.
Your past support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, aimed at isolating and dismantling Israel – even undermining institutions like Cornell Tech because of their Israeli partnerships – raises serious concerns. Cornell Tech has been a significant driver of the city’s technology sector and serves as a conduit for groundbreaking research that can benefit millions. That mission should not be diminished by unabashed anti-Zionism.
If you use that power to advance policies that isolate Israel or penalize those who engage with it, we will speak out forcefully and publicly.
AJC – as we have done in the past and around the country – will oppose any attempt to embed BDS practices in city governance to ensure our city never becomes a platform for economic warfare against the Jewish state
You will soon lead a city whose strength lies in its diversity and its decency. That diversity includes a vibrant Jewish community that expects its mayor to protect it without hesitation. We will enter this new chapter with open eyes and firm purpose. The stakes for Jewish New Yorkers and for the moral fabric of this city could not be higher.
Josh Kramer is Director of American Jewish Committee New York.
