A version of this piece first ran as part of the New York Jewish Week’s daily newsletter, rounding up the latest on politics, culture, food and what’s new with Jews in the city. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.
✍ Mamdani fights the ghosts of anti-Israel posts
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani continues to be haunted by past anti-Israel posts from his City Hall staff, and he has yet to find a consistent strategy for confronting them.
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Álvaro López, the Brooklyn borough director in Mamdani’s Office of Mass Engagement, responded to people tearing down posters of Israeli hostages in a now-deleted post that said, “All I see are heroes.”
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Mamdani has not fired López, though the director of the Office of Mass Engagement said the online comment “does not reflect the beliefs or values of the administration,” according to Politico. Mamdani’s spokesperson Dora Pekec declined to answer whether the mayor would denounce the rhetoric himself.
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Pekec also refused to comment on a post by Achmat Akkad, a longtime city health department staffer, that said “1 Israeli left in this world would be one too many.” Pekec did not say whether Akkad still works for the city.
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In December, Mamdani showed a harsher stance when his director of appointments Catherine Almonte Da Costa came under fire for resurfaced posts about “money hungry Jews.” He called her comments “reprehensible” and accepted her resignation.
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The mayor’s approach toward anti-Israel and antisemitic posts also recently came under scrutiny after Kaif Gilani, who co-founded the “Hot Girls for Zohran” canvassing effort, was found by Jewish Insider to spread conspiracy theories about Israel playing a role in 9/11 and JFK’s assassination. When Mamdani was asked about interacting with Gilani, Politico reported that he “ran away.”
🪧 JVP backs Columbia encampment organizer for Congress
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Darializa Avila Chevalier, who is challenging Upper Manhattan Rep. Adriano Espaillat for Congress and helped organize the pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University, has been endorsed by Jewish Voice for Peace Action.
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“Get ready because we are about to defeat AIPAC in NYC – AGAIN,” the anti-Zionist group said in a post advertising a campaign event for Chevalier in Brooklyn tonight.
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Meanwhile, Espaillat is receiving an endorsement from state Attorney General Letitia James today. “Adriano Espaillat is a fighter — for working people, for immigrant families, and for communities that too often get ignored,” James said in a statement to Politico.
⚙️ Israel drone supplier booted from Brooklyn Navy Yard
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Easy Aerial, a New York City manufacturer that sends drones to Israel, was dropped from a lease by the city-owned Brooklyn Navy Yard six weeks after Mamdani took office, reported The New York Post.
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The company has long been targeted by protests, and Jewish city councilman Lincoln Restler celebrated its departure last week. “This public asset should not be leasing space to companies producing drones that are being transformed into weapons of war,” he said on X.
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Assemblyman Kalman Yeger, who is also Jewish, rebuked the decision. “Chasing good jobs out of New York because Mr. Mamdani and his friends hate Jews is probably not a very good economic development program,” he told The Post.
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The village of Lawrence on Long Island has formally invited Easy Aerial to relocate to its community, where it said “businesses of all backgrounds are welcomed and supported.”
🗣 Former Jersey City mayor turns his attention to antisemitism in NYC
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Steve Fulop, a Jewish Democrat and the former mayor of Jersey City, told Jewish Insider his new focus is countering antisemitism in New York’s business community.
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Fulop, a former yeshiva student and the grandson of Holocaust survivors, became head of the business advocacy group Partnership for New York City after leaving the mayor’s office last month.
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Fulop said that an uptick in antisemitism contributed to a hostile environment for businesses. “If you continue on a trend where it feels like antisemitism is increasing and quality of life is decreasing, that is a trigger for people to leave very, very fast,” he told JI.
🤝 Chabad teen summit
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The 18th annual Chabad teen summit, drawing thousands of Jewish teenagers from around the world, starts today, lasting through Sunday. City Council speaker Julie Menin and Comptroller Mark Levine will be among the Jewish speakers addressing the summit, while Gov. Kathy Hochul is set to speak to the teens on Sunday.
