Is Mamdani An Anti-Semite?

Benjamin Netanyahu referred to Mayor Mamdani as “anti-Semitic” in a blistering criticism of the mayor during his speech to the United Nations. No doubt a lot of his sentiments were due to Mamdani’s aim of arresting Netanyahu when he landed in New York, but the charge remains nonetheless.

In response, City Hall reminded people that Netanyahu was found to be a war criminal by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. This is even though the United States is not bound by the ICC’s decisions, as it is not a participant in the court.

Moishe Indig, a self-proclaimed Satmar spokesman and publisher of the Yiddish paper Der Blatt, severely criticized Netanyahu’s assessment of Mamdani as an anti-Semite. He contrasted life in the city, where Orthodox Jews freely practice their religion, with that of Israel, where “hundreds” of innocent yeshivah students are arrested each week. He described Mamdani as a friend and ally to the community and said Netanyahu is not.

Indig had previously endorsed Mamdani in the 2025 mayoral race, despite Mamdani’s pro-Palestinian position and his progressive stance.

So, is Mamdani an anti-Semite or not?

The natural inclination is to say that he most definitely is. His rhetoric against Israel and Netanyahu certainly smacks of anti-Semitism. Jews are increasingly uncomfortable living in New York under Mamdani’s rule.

On the other hand, he has made several overtures to the Jewish community. He issued warm statements of solidarity with the Jewish people on the eve of Tish’ah B’Av and Rosh HaShanah. He also met with a select group of rabbis for an exchange of opinions. In addition, he visited Eichler’s s’farim store in Boro Park, where he was greeted by fawning Jews.

But there is no doubt that his rants against Israel for committing “genocide” and apartheid help poison the atmosphere against Jews in New York. He also discontinued an executive order by Mayor Eric Adams defining anti-Semitism by the accepted definition of singling out Jews for special criticism. He also vetoed legislation that would have made protesting in close proximity to a school illegal. And he said that a shul sponsoring an Israeli real estate exhibition is in violation of the law.

To me, the thing that stands out most as a display of his disdain for Jews was his omission of any Jewish lawyer from his Judicial Panel. This is despite Jews comprising 30–50 percent of lawyers in the city. He did respond to that charge by claiming that they had considered John Leventhal, a highly respected Jewish jurist. But he was disqualified because he had been on the legal team defending Ghislaine Maxwell, infamous liaison to the notorious Jeffrey Epstein.

First, just because a lawyer chooses to defend a client does not mean that he ascribes to anything the client is guilty of. He is there to defend the accused, and that’s his job.

More importantly, Mamdani chose as his top lawyer to head the panel Ramzi Kassem, an anti-Israel activist. To add to the insult, Kassem defended Ahmed al-Darbi, a Guantanamo Bay detainee who was accused of being part of a terror plot organized by Al Qaeda. How rich is that?

So, is Mamdani an anti-Semite? I guess the argument can be made that he is not. Just virulently anti-Israel. But one thing is for sure: He is not good news for Jews.

Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld is the Rabbi Emeritus of the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, President of the Coalition for Jewish Values, former President of the Vaad Harabonim of Queens, and the Rabbinic Consultant for the Queens Jewish Link.