Nearly 1,000 rabbis from NYC and across the country sound off on their opposition against the Mamdani campaign

"When public figures like New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani refuse to condemn violent slogans, deny Israel's legitimacy, and accuse the Jewish state of genocide, they, in the words of New York Board of Rabbis president Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, 'Delegitimize the Jewish community and encourage and exacerbate hostility toward Judaism and Jews,' the letter states. Hirsch, who leads the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue on Manhattan's Upper West Side."

"The rabbi made it clear that not everyone who criticizes the Israeli government is antisemitic. But what Mamdani believes, he said, is not about policy or government. It's completely legitimate to criticize any policy of any government, Hirsch said. What Zohran Mamdani believes, however, is not a disagreement on policies as strongly as he may think. It is a disagreement on the very existence of the state of Israel. He's a proud anti-Zionist."

More than 1,000 rabbis across the country signed an open letter titled A Rabbinic Call to Action: Defending the Jewish Future expressing opposition to Queens Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani's 2025 New York City mayoral candidacy. The signatories cite concerns about the political normalization of anti‑Zionism, violent verbiage, denials of Israel's legitimacy, refusal to condemn violent slogans, and accusations that Israel committed genocide, saying these create a hostile environment for Jewish New Yorkers. Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch described Mamdani as a proud anti‑Zionist who disputes Israel's very existence and warned that anti‑Zionism has historically fueled antisemitism. The letter stresses that criticizing Israeli policy differs from denying the state's legitimacy. New York City has the largest Jewish population outside Israel.

Read at www.amny.com