Since Zohran Mamdani's victory as New York City mayor, his remarks about Israel have generated growing backlash among many in the Jewish community – tensions that came to a head this week when major Jewish organizations boycotted a Shavuot celebration held Monday evening at Gracie Mansion to mark Jewish Heritage Month. Not all Jewish guests chose to stay away, however, and the controversy over Mamdani has exposed fault lines within New York's Jewish community itself.
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Prominent Jewish organizations, among them UJA-Federation of New York and the American Jewish Committee (AJC), decided to boycott the Mamdani's event after a video was posted the previous week on the city's official account featuring the story of Inea Bushnaq, described as a "Nakba survivor", alongside a claim that Nakba Day marks "the expulsion of more than 700,000 Palestinians between 1947 and 1949."
UJA-Federation responded sharply, saying, "The refugees you post about exist because five Arab states launched a war to destroy Israel on May 15, 1948—rejecting the UN plan that also called for a Palestinian state. In its aftermath, 800,000 Jews were expelled from Arab lands. Your post mentions none of this." The organization also criticized the timing of the post, adding, "Jewish New Yorkers prepare to light Shabbat candles. We noticed."
The AJC also attacked the mayor, writing that the video "distorts the public's understanding" and places the Jewish community "at additional risk," at a time when Jews are being attacked in the streets of New York and around the world due to anti-Zionist narratives. According to a New York Post report, at least three Jewish leaders decided to boycott Mamdani's Shavuot event. UJA-Federation stated it would not attend events hosted by "a mayor who denies a central pillar of our heritage – the State of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people." Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, noted that the video "omitted significant parts of history" and "only inflamed tensions further."
Nevertheless, despite the uproar the video – and many previous statements – had caused within the pro-Israel Jewish community, and despite the mayor's dismissal of the criticism, many Jewish guests who were invited to Mamdani's event chose to attend rather than boycott. They argued that despite their substantial disagreements, they needed to be part of the conversation to bring about change.
Mayor Mamdani: the refugees you post about exist because 22 Arab states launched a war to destroy Israel on May 15, 1948—rejecting the UN plan that also called for a Palestinian state. In its aftermath, 800,000 Jews were expelled from Arab lands. Your post mentions none of this. https://t.co/Fn1aY788Tc
— UJA-Federation of New York (@UJAfedNY) May 15, 2026
"Those Jewish organizations did the wrong thing," Jewish-American comedian Eitan Levine told Israel Hayom. "They have an obligation to show up and be as loudly, authentically Jewish as possible. They should have been standing front row and been first in line to shake the mayor's hand to let him know that we aren't going anywhere.
"Deleting ourselves from the conversation is not how we make things safer," Levine emphasized. "Hiding ourselves away from uncomfortable spaces isn't heroic – it is cowardly, and I was really disappointed to see those leaders choose that path."
Disagreements over whether to attend the mayor's event reached a new level when members of the local Jewish community launched a "shaming campaign" against those who chose to go, hiring photographers to document Jewish guests as they arrived. This generated an online debate no less charged than the one surrounding the event itself. Former New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind shared a post on X in which he wrote: "They will be exposed! Plan being discussed to ensure that."
Israeli-American advocate Alana Zeitchik, who attended Mamadani's Shavuot event, addressed the issue with a video on Instagram, saying: "I'm not sure when shaming Jews became an acceptable thing to do, but it sounds like cowardly, pathetic behavior." She added she's not an "arden supporter of Mamadni," but chose to attend because she cares about the safety of the Jewish community, and wanted to show up as a proud Israeli representative. "Showing up in that room as an Israeli is powerful," she concluded.
They will be exposed!
Plan being discussed to ensure that. https://t.co/VFkv0dULZs— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) May 18, 2026
Levine described the atmosphere at the event as feeling like "the opening speech by a shift manager at a Walmart – speakers trying to pump everyone up and force loud optimism into a very milquetoast event." What he did not expect was to find Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) listed as a co-sponsor. "They are an awful group, and if the mayor's office gets them to sponsor, then there should have been pro-Israel groups there also," he said.
"The mayor still needs to do a better job of engaging with Jews and Israelis. I don't like how every time he is photographed by Jews, it is either hyper progressive a**holes who hurt Jews, JVP, or Hasidic Jews who he got to vote for him," he added. "The majority of Jews are not represented by these groups, and that leads to tokenizing the few Jews he does meet with."
The participation of pro-Israel Jews in an event co-sponsored by anti-Israel Jewish organizations drew criticism from activists in the local Jewish community, highlighting the rift within the community over the issue. Advocate Lizzie Savetsky said in a video on her Instagram page: "Many of the 'progressive' Jews still think that showing up to this circus makes them the 'good Jews.' The bridge-building Jews…Shavout is about Jewish sovereignty in Israel. The irony of him [Mamdani] hosting a Shavout celebration is not just hypocrisy, it's hilarious, and a total mockery."
