New York City’s mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, is facing fierce backlash from major Jewish organizations after declining to outright condemn protesters who surrounded a Manhattan synagogue chanting “Death to the IDF,” instead suggesting the event inside — which promoted Jewish immigration to Israel — was “in violation of international law.”

The controversy stems from a Wednesday night demonstration outside of Park East Synagogue, where keffiyeh-clad protesters opposed an event hosted by an organization that helps American and Canadian Jews emigrate to Israel, Nefesh B’Nefesh. Demonstrators shouted menacing slogans like “We don’t want no Zionists here,” “From New York to Gaza, globalize the intifada,” and “Resistance you make us proud, take another settler out.”

Governor Kathy Hochul and the outgoing mayor of New York, Eric Adams, swiftly condemned the protest, denouncing the targeting of a house of worship and the nature of the protesters’ rhetoric. Mr. Mamdani, however, broke his silence later that day with a markedly different tone. 

Through spokeswoman Dora Pekec, the mayor-elect told Jewish Insider that while he “discouraged the language used at last night’s protest,” he believes “these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law.” His team later clarified the statement “was specifically in reference to the organization’s promotion of settlement activity beyond the Green Line” which “violates international law.”

That characterization drew immediate rebuke. Nefesh B’Nefesh facilitates Jewish immigration across Israel and does not specifically direct immigrants to particular regions such as West Bank settlements. The organization advertises its open house events as opportunities to “get your questions answered, learn about the process, and discover what life in Israel could look like for you and your family.”

The American Jewish Committee called Mr. Mamdani’s remarks “offensive and false,” arguing they “justify the protestors rather than focus on protecting the attendees of the event.”

The UJA-Federation of New York said the mayor-elect’s comments were “categorically false,” adding that “the opportunity to emigrate to Israel — the Jewish homeland — is a core value of the Jewish people and the absolute, unqualified right of every American Jew.”

The Anti-Defamation League branded the statement “outrageous and deeply offensive” and “rooted in a hateful ideology that Jews are the only people in the world who do not deserve the right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland.” The group accused Mr. Mamdani of contributing to “an already hostile environment for the Jewish community by refusing to denounce last night’s blatantly antisemitic harassment and intimidation.” 

The ADL’s former national director, Abe Foxman, who is a survivor of the holocaust, described Mr. Mamdani’s position as an “ominous message to the New York City Jewish community.” 

A former spokesman for the state of Israel, Eyal Levy, offered a similar sentiment: “Mamdani had a test. To condemn mobs besieging a synagogue and calling for death and terrorism,” he wrote on X. “He failed the test. He didn’t condemn them — he justified their motives. Mamdani is a zealot, these are his people, and it’s going to get so much worse.” 

The protest has also drawn federal attention. On Friday, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon announced that the Justice Department is “gathering information about this incident,” noting that “it’s a federal crime to block access to a house of worship in the US.” 

New York City law permits protesters to assemble outside houses of worship provided they don’t block entrances or obstruct pedestrian traffic. However, the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act prohibits using force, threats, or physical obstruction to interfere with access to places of worship.

The Justice Department in September filed a civil complaint under that law against individuals who targeted a synagogue in West Orange, New Jersey, during a November 2024 protest that turned violent.