Protesters accuse NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani of failing to protect Jewish New Yorkers
Protesters gathered Tuesday near Mayor Zohran Mamdani's residence at Gracie Mansion on the Upper East Side, accusing him of failing to protect Jewish New Yorkers.
Counter-protesters also showed up to defend the mayor.
Michelle Ahdoot, director of programming and strategy with the Jewish civil rights movement End Jew Hatred, accuses the mayor of failing to take a strong stance to protect the Jewish community.
"You can't pick and choose what you call out. You can't call out swastikas, but then not call out a Hezbollah flag being waved and 'Zionists must fall' being chanted," she said.
She added, "Our ultimate goal is for Zohran Mamdani to be removed from office."
"We say when [Mamdani] stands against Zionism, this is not against Judaism," counter-protester Rabbi Yitzchok Deutsch said.
Earlier this year, the Anti-Defamation League sounded the alarm following an annual audit that found in 2025, there were 6,274 antisemitic incidents reported nationwide, and New York ranked number one for the most incidents with 1,160 reported.
"The density of Jewish life here is unlike any other place. Therefore, the responsibility is even greater to keep us safe here," said Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism.
He gives the mayor credit for appointing a committed executive director to combat antisemitism and for allocating $26 million to the Office of Hate Crime Prevention, which Jacobs hopes will help protect Jewish institutions like synagogues and schools.
"I think he genuinely cares about the safety and well-being of our Jewish communities," Jacobs said, "but it's important that he also understand that his rhetoric as the mayor of New York City that is often speaking so harshly about Israel emboldens people who not only would wish us harm, but who are bent on harming the Jewish community."
The mayor's spokesperson confirmed he will not be attending the Israel Day parade this weekend. CBS News New York called and emailed the mayor's office for an interview or a statement, but did not hear back.
