{"id":95159,"date":"2026-09-18T17:04:04","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T22:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/?p=95159"},"modified":"2026-09-18T17:04:04","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T22:04:04","slug":"jewish-leaders-call-out-mamdani-at-gathering-outside-mayors-residence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/jewish-leaders-call-out-mamdani-at-gathering-outside-mayors-residence\/","title":{"rendered":"Jewish leaders call out Mamdani at gathering outside mayor\u2019s residence"},"content":{"rendered":"

By JOSEPH STRAUSS<\/p>\n

(New York Jewish Week<\/em> via JTA) \u2014 Hundreds of Jewish day school students, parents and alumni gathered outside Gracie Mansion on Friday for a morning of singing and prayers in which they called out New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani for his anti-Israel rhetoric.<\/p>\n

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Attendees listen as Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, right, of Kehilath Jeshurun speaks outside Gracie Mansion, New York, New York, Sept. 18, 2026. (Joseph Strauss)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Ahead of what the organizers billed as a vigil, some Jewish critics said it inappropriately deployed children as political props. Organizers described it as an expression of Jewish pride, and not as a protest of the anti-Zionist mayor; advance materials did not mention Mandani. <\/p>\n

Still, a number of speakers voiced their concerns about Mamdani over his rhetoric about Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have those like the leader of this city, Mayor Mamdani, who say we have no right to have a Jewish land,\u201d said Rabbi Avi Weiss, founder of the Modern Orthodox rabbinical school Yeshivat Choverei Torah. \u201cAnd while I respect the office of the mayor, that, Mr. Mayor, is antisemitism.\u201d <\/p>\n

Weiss\u2019 charge drew applause from the crowd, which was made up mostly of Ramaz School and SAR High School and its adjoined middle school students, all of which are Modern Orthodox, who were bussed over to the Upper East Side. <\/p>\n

Prior to the event, nearly 400 students, alumni and parents of SAR and Ramaz had signed a petition urging organizers to move the event\u2019s location from Gracie Mansion, cautioning that it would \u201clikely be interpreted as a political statement against the mayor, rather than as a response to rising antisemitism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Protesters from the anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox Neturei Karta group picketed next to the gathering, which was held in Carl Schurz Park near the mayor\u2019s residence. A group of teenage boys among those participating in the vigil jeered at the anti-Israel protesters. \u201cTalk louder, I can\u2019t hear you!\u201d one called out at the Neturei Karta. <\/p>\n

Some attendees held Israeli and American flags. People danced and sang to \u201cAm Israel Chai\u201d (\u201cThe People of Israel Live\u201d) and \u201cOd Yavo Shalom Aleinu\u201d (\u201cPeace Will Come Upon Us\u201d), popular songs at pro-Israel protests. The event was rounded out with the singing of the Israeli and American national anthems.<\/p>\n

Rabbi David Ingber, who leads the cultural institution 92NY, and Kehilath Jeshurun\u2019s Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz also named Mamdani in their remarks, while others \u2014 including students and school administrators \u2014 spoke broadly about the rise in antisemitism and the importance of expressing Jewish pride. The strongest rebukes of Mamdani came from Weiss.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you use words like genocide, global intifada, genocide \u2014 Mr. Mayor, do you know who you\u2019re talking about?\u201d Weiss, who was draped in an Israeli flag, continued. \u201cYou\u2019re talking about my grandchildren! You\u2019re talking about hundreds and thousands of Ramaz graduates, of SAR graduates, who are serving in the IDF. Genocide? Not only does that put a target on the Jewish backs, but you are maligning my own children.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cI turn to you and say \u2014 respectfully, but I say \u2014 how dare you?\u201d<\/p>\n

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A group of teenage boys stands across a police barrier from anti-Israel Neturei Karta protesters. (Joseph Strauss)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The gathering came as antisemitic hate crimes have risen in New York City compared to this time last year, and comprise more than half of reported hate crimes in the city. <\/p>\n

Mamdani told reporters earlier this week that he welcomed the group\u2019s presence but that he would likely not be at his residence while they gathered outside it. His public schedule for Friday did not list any appearances earlier than 2 p.m.<\/p>\n

Aaron Herman, CEO and co-founder of the group IMPACT, which co-organized Friday\u2019s event, disagreed with the students, graduates and parents who opposed the vigil, calling the gathering \u201cnot a political thing. It\u2019s really showing Jewish resilience and Jewish joy, and fighting hate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, this is where he lives, so there is proximity. But there is this incredible need to hear,\u201d Herman told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency after the gathering. \u201cAnd sometimes being in proximity to Gracie Mansion helps with education, right? And saying to the mayor, you have to be more effective, because the group is right here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rabbi Binyamin Krauss, principal of SAR Academy, conceded in an interview that \u201cwe\u2019re in front of Gracie Mansion and the mayor is an elected official, so I guess there\u2019s politics,\u201d but said that the event was a \u201chuman statement\u201d rather than a political one.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got some serious concern about what\u2019s been coming out of Gracie Mansion, and we hope that that will change,\u201d Krauss said. He said that planning for the event began over the summer. About 80 of the 90 students in his school\u2019s eight-grade class attended on Friday, and were given an excused absence for their morning classes.<\/p>\n

Some in attendance felt that they were, in fact, making a political statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, that we disagree with you, that we disagree with what you\u2019re supporting,\u201d said Steven Epstein, whose daughter attends SAR, about the criticisms of the mayor that were aired. Epstein was one of about a dozen people wearing yellow \u201cFireMamdani.com\u201d t-shirts, which were being handed out along with matching stickers. (Krauss said in an interview that the event\u2019s organizers were not behind the shirts or stickers.)<\/p>\n

Tenth-grader Ari Fogelson was one of four students at Emet Classical Academy who attended, having found out about the gathering yesterday and having received an excused absence. Asked what it meant to show up, Fogelson said \u201cto be a Jew, to support Israel, to take down Mamdani and all his evilness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another Emet student, Lila Sisskind, said the gathering was a chance to \u201cfocus on the good,\u201d and that \u201cby doing that, we\u2019re trying to go back against the evil that we think is penetrating our city.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event drew a number of politicians and local candidates for office, including Inna Vernikov, the Jewish Republican City Council member from Brooklyn; Caroline Shinkle, who is running as the Republican candidate against Micah Lasher in New York\u2019s 12th congressional district; and Alina Bonsell, the Republican candidate for the Upper East Side\u2019s state Senate seat. A handful of people in the crowd held Bonsell\u2019s campaign signs. <\/p>\n

Michael Rapaport, the Jewish actor and comedian who has been vocally pro-Israel and anti-Mamdani, was also in attendance, and told reporters that he\u2019s considering running for mayor.<\/p>\n

Steinmetz said during his remarks that the event was held outside Mamdani\u2019s residence partly in response to what he said was a failure to assure Jewish leaders that he took their concerns seriously.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis summer, the mayor of New York demonized supporters of Israel, and focused on singling out the Jewish state for criticism,\u201d Steinmetz said, alluding to a video in which Mamdani accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of war crimes. \u201cAnd when he brought in a handpicked group of rabbis to discuss their concerns about his remarks, they left largely disappointed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd in this climate of criticism, we need you to remember who you are, and we need you to stand tall,\u201d Steinmetz said to the students.<\/p>\n

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