Jewish Group Urges DOJ Probe of Mamdani Over Antisemitism Concerns

“As a member of the Council observed, ‘Zionist’ now operates as a proxy for Jew, and the city’s posture hands the perpetrator an exit,” the letter states.

By United with Israel Staff

The New York Post reported Wednesday that a Jewish civil rights organization has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his administration over alleged failures to protect Jewish residents from antisemitic violence.

In a letter to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC) requested a federal investigation into whether New York City and the NYPD are denying Jewish New Yorkers equal protection under the law by failing to adequately address what it called a “documented and severe wave of antisemitic violence.”

“The National Jewish Advocacy Center writes to request that the Civil Rights Division open an investigation, under its pattern-or-practice authority, into whether the City of New York and the New York City Police Department are denying Jewish New Yorkers the equal protection of the laws by failing to protect them against a documented and severe wave of antisemitic violence,” the letter states.

NJAC CEO Mark Goldfeder argued that decisions made by Mamdani’s administration have weakened the city’s ability to combat antisemitism. Among other concerns, the letter cites the administration’s decision to revoke New York City’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and its refusal to adopt another formal definition.

“A government that declines to recognize the most common form the hatred now takes has declined, in advance, to police it,” the letter states.

The filing comes amid growing debate over antisemitism in New York following several high-profile incidents.

Just this week, a popular Williamsburg coffee shop faced widespread criticism after posting a message attacking Rep. Dan Goldman, one of the Democratic Party’s most prominent pro-Israel lawmakers.

The since-deleted post mocked Goldman’s support for Israel, suggested he was a “genocide enabler,” and said the business would have refused him service had staff recognized him.

The controversy followed a bruising primary season in which several Mamdani-backed and Democratic Socialist candidates who have taken sharply anti-Israel positions scored significant victories in New York City races, fueling concerns among many Jewish voters about the growing influence of anti-Israel activism within local Democratic politics.

The NJAC letter also argues that anti-Zionism is increasingly being used as a proxy for anti-Jewish discrimination.

“As a member of the Council observed, ‘Zionist’ now operates as a proxy for Jew, and the city’s posture hands the perpetrator an exit,” the letter states.

The request for a federal investigation comes as antisemitic hate crimes continue to rise. According to NYPD data, anti-Jewish incidents accounted for roughly 60 percent of all confirmed hate crimes in New York City during May.

Police recorded 41 anti-Jewish hate crimes during the month, compared to 24 in May 2025. The figure also represented a sharp increase from recent months, with anti-Jewish incidents rising well above the averages recorded in February, March, and April.

The increase occurred despite a broader decline in crime citywide. The NYPD reported that major crime fell more than 10 percent in May, while shootings and murders remained near historic lows.

Although Jews make up roughly 10 percent of New York City’s population, they were the targets of more than half of all confirmed hate crimes during the month.