New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday unveiled what the city called the first municipal strategy of its kind in the United States to combat antisemitism, with funding for synagogue security, Holocaust education and hate crime victims. The plan makes no mention of Israel, the Gaza war or anti-Israel protests.
Under the plan, the budget of the city's Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes will rise to $29 million a year, up from about $3 million. The funding covers hate targeting all groups and is not earmarked entirely for antisemitism. The strategy details $6.4 million in grants to community organizations working on prevention and victim support, $1 million for security at synagogues and other houses of worship, expanded Holocaust education, and investments in Jewish cultural institutions, including $2 million for the Queens Holocaust Memorial Garden.
Jews make up about 10% of New York City's population but accounted for more than half of confirmed hate crime victims in the first eight months of the year, according to city figures, with antisemitic crimes up about 9%.
"Antisemitism is real, and it is growing," Mamdani said in a video statement. "This is not only unacceptable; it's something we all have an obligation to change, and City Hall will lead the way."
The omission of Israel drew immediate criticism. During a briefing for elected officials, Republican Assemblyman Michael Novakhov told Phylisa Wisdom, head of the Mayor's Office to Combat Antisemitism, that "the primary source of antisemitism in the city right now is Mayor Mamdani."
The administration says the city can fight antisemitism effectively without binding itself to a single formal definition. The plan was released days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at the UN, accused Mamdani of antisemitism.
