Mayor Zohran Mamdani debuted a sweeping plan Tuesday to combat antisemitism and hate crimes against Jewish people in New York City, moving to assuage concerns from critics who see his steadfast denunciations of Israel as antisemitic.
The strategy includes increased security funding for synagogues, an increased focus on folding Jewish history into public school education, and a pledge to highlight important Jewish cultural and religious sites in the mayor’s day-to-day governance of the city.
Mamdani said the overarching goal of the initiative was to “confront the scourge of antisemitism now and in the future,” noting that Jewish people make up only 12% of the city’s population but are the victims of around half the city’s reported hate crimes.
“This is not only unacceptable, it’s something we all have an obligation to change. And City Hall will lead the way,” he said in a video.
Mamdani, a Democrat and the city’s first Muslim mayor, has long been a vocal supporter of Palestinian civil rights and has accused the Israeli government of committing a genocide in Gaza. He has said his criticism of Israel does not amount to antisemitism, though his opponents have argued his heated rhetoric around the conflict has made Jewish people feel unsafe in the city.
The plan announced Tuesday amounts to the mayor’s most forceful attempt to address concerns over antisemitism, with Mamdani promising to “build a city where Jewish New Yorkers are not only safe but celebrated.”
City Hall will increase grant funding to community organizations that focus on hate crime prevention and survivor support. It will also work with public schools to address complaints of discrimination and launch public awareness campaigns on the city’s human rights law and how to report suspected discrimination.
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- 13 hours
Love how the AP cynically spins it as being about Mamdani (“moving to assuage concerns,” etc.) instead of being about solving a discrimination problem.
- 4 hours
When my enemy does good, it’s because they’re self-centered. When my friend does good, it’s because they’re good and generous.
- 22 hours
People really need to understand that criticizing Israel isn’t antisemitic.
- 11 hours
And judging by the hate crime statistics he brought up, people also need to realize the reverse: that Israel doesn’t actually represent all Jews worldwide.
Which is really the same thing tbh.
- wewbull@feddit.ukEnglish18 hours
…but they don’t want to understand that, as it would mean they were supporters of a genocidal apartheid state.
22 hoursBut people also need to acknowledge that antisemitism can still exist despite the genocide that Israel’s government is doing. This whole movement of recoiling any time anyone mentions antisemitism has big “all lives matter” energy, as if it’s impossible for a group to be marginalized when a symbolic avatar of that group has become a justifiable bad guy.
- 22 hours
But people also need to acknowledge that antisemitism can still exist despite the genocide that Israel’s government is doing.
Nobody is saying otherwise.
Maybe it’s the spaces I’m in, but I’ve seen it extensively. The terms zionist and jew are interchangeable to a lot of people. Gaza and Israel are huge issues, but separating the Israeli government from Israeli people from all Jews has become a quagmire that the average person I think doesn’t have the capacity to separate.
- 21 hours
The only people who have done their utmost best to equate the two terms are Israelis themselves. And we cannot separate Israelis from their government because both work hand in glove to achieve their aims. Israeli society has moved towards a fascist state, and the government they elect represents that.
Under that logic every single American is fully culpable for Trump’s actions. Everyone who voted against Trump but still pays taxes is responsible. Anyone who protested against Trump and Ice and donated to progressive causes has the blood of Renee Good on their hands.
That view removes the possibility of nuance, and you just conflated all Israelis with their government. This was the election results in 2022:
You said Israelis did this to themselves. That statement is asinine, and is exactly what I was referring to.
- 19 hours
Numerous recent polls have shown that the majority of the Israeli public believe the destruction of Gaza didn’t go far enough. The ‘liberal’ politicians opposing Netanyahu criticise him for not ‘finishing’ the job in Gaza. No one believes in the fairy tale of a benign Israeli public
100%, and I think the adult west bank settlers are valid military targets.
I also think it’s difficult to hold 18 year old kids culpable for mandatory military service; I think mandatory military service should be abolished. I think the people of Gaza should be able to live safe comfortable lives against the oppression of the Israeli government, and I think Israeli citizens should be able to live comfortable safe lives against rocket attacks. I think every country in the region could justifiably go to war with each other with a child-like “but he started it” argument and the only way to get adults in the room is to be truthful about the fact that EVERYONE with any agency is at fault, and pointing at who is the biggest bad guy historically just leads to a perpetuation of the violence.
Your language just did it. You said “Israel” without any nuance for “the government of Israel”, “people who support the government of Israel”, or “Israeli citizens that oppose and protest the government.”
It’s like saying “Americans hate black people and minorities.” Yea, the current government’s actions support that. The current government was elected by a majority. Even those in the minority pay sales/income taxes, in effect supporting the fascist Trump regime. That being said, all Americans do NOT hate black people and minorities, and I would be offended by that classification.
I have personally watched this same mechanism cause people who have agency to oppose the Israeli regime recoil from leftist spaces and embrace apathy, making the situation worse and actually harming Gazans. Language and nuance is critical in preserving allies with agency, even if it doesn’t earn internet points.
- 20 hours
I understand the specific distinction, but when a majority wants what is happening, I also feel it is fair to say that the people want it. Sure, it’s not everyone and sometimes it’s 51/49 split, but that is democracy for you. Now I’m not saying all of Israel wants what is happening but since the majority wants it, I feel it’s fair to say that the country Israel does want it/support it. Where else should we draw the line? Does it have to be 100% of people who want it before we can use that kind of phrase? Is 90% okay?
As an American in California that hates everything our current fascist regime is doing, it’s hard not to get defensive when people paint an entire nation and all it’s people with a brush based on the actions of a majority elected government; I want to give people the grace I hope they afford to me.
- 21 hours
Criticism of Israel is not anti-semitism. Protecting Jewish people from hate does not imply love for Israel.
Shit on Israel as much as you want but if your neighbour is Jewish and normal then be nice to them, but if they are a psychopath then they should be handled like one.
- 20 hours
That’d be obvious antisemitism…
Edit: for those taking it literally -> /s
- 17 hours
Love to see!
Though I do hope protecting synagogues doesnt apply to protestors taking issue with synagogues organizing the auction of Palestinian land. If I’m not mistaken thats a thing mamdani has gotten wrong once, I’d like not to see him get it wrong again.
Hating and persecuting people for being Jewish is a scourge that must be rooted out. Taking issue with the way that certain Jewish groups in the US back the genocide happening in Gaza is a moral imperative. We must do both.
- 22 hours
Don’t give into this framing though the evidence there even is “an extreme rise in antisemitism” is very questionable.
- 19 hours
What is the best place to find reliable information about antisemitism? What does your source report as the rate of antisemitism today vs a decade ago?
Every reliable survey and vital statistics organization I can find points to a sharp rise in antisemitic hate crimes in recent years.
Edit: You’ve been asked more than once to provide even a single source, and refused. So this appears to be based on “vibes.”
- 20 hours
Link to your sources too many of these specialists count someone saying free Palestine at a protest or having a palestinian flag as an “antisemitic incident”.
- 20 hours
I’m literally asking you for a reliable source. You made a very strong claim, and I’m assuming that you have evidence. Please share it.
- 3 hours
I’m a little confused by what you’re asking for. The person you replied to was questioning the sources used to make the claim.
What kind of source are you expecting them to produce? They didn’t make any claim that requires a source, they questioned the validity of the sources of others.
- 11 hours
Protecting New Yorkers of various backgrounds is real work for the mayor of NYC though?
