New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt clashed last week about the representation of Jewish residents, with the politician stating there were better representatives of Jewish New Yorkers than Greenblatt, and the ADL CEO criticizing Mamdani for telling Jews their priorities while only seeking to represent the minority of Jews that agreed with him.
According to The Forward, in a Thursday Zeteo interview, Mamdani told journalist Mehdi Hasan that “there are far better representations of the concerns of Jewish New Yorkers than the ADL and Jonathan Greenblatt.”
Greenblatt jabbed back on X/Twitter on Friday that Mamdani was being brazenly audacious by telling the Jewish community who did and didn’t represent it.
“We don’t need anyone – a political candidate or any non-Jewish person – to tell us who should speak for the Jewish people,” said Greenblatt. “Obviously, no marginalized group is a monolith, but I’m stunned by his arrogance in telling a minority community who should or should not speak for them.”
Greenblatt said that the vast majority of American Jews considered themselves Zionist and had strong ties to Israel, and Mamdani demonstrated that he did not understand the concerns of the community by attending religious services at a synagogue “known for its anti-Zionist activities.”
The ADL CEO referenced Mamdani’s visit to the Kolot Chayeinu synagogue led by Rabbi Abby Stein, which he had visited on Rosh Hashanah and on Shabbat in February. “For months, we have asked all NYC mayoral candidates, including Zohran Mamdani, how they would protect the entire NYC Jewish population, rather than just the segments of the community that they agree with,” said Greenblatt.
Also on Friday, the progressive organization Bend the Arc: Jewish Action issued an endorsement for Mamdani, its first-ever mayoral endorsement. The organization’s CEO, Jamie Beran, said in a statement that Mamdani would reach across the political divides in the Jewish community.
“His victory will reshape the national dialogue around what we can achieve in progressive elections and governance and around the role of the Jewish community in coalition-building that work,” said Beran.
The organization’s advocacy and political affairs director, Eli Williams-Szenes, said that it was “no surprise that so many Jewish New Yorkers recognize in Mamdani a visionary leader and champion for our shared values.” In June, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice called on supporters to sign a pledge to help elect Mamdani in November.
Diplomatically critical of Mamdani
Many mainstream Jewish organizations have been diplomatic but critical of Mamdani since he won the Democratic primary.
The American Jewish Committee criticized Mamdani for defending the slogan “globalize the intifada.” AJC joined the UJA-Jewish Federation of New York and other groups in a June 4 call for all candidates to condemn the phrase as a call for violence.
The ADL has also attacked Mamdani for his support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, issuing a June 26 statement warning that BDS was founded on an ideology that rejected Jewish self-determination.