New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is fending off criticism from Jewish leaders in the city over a video published Friday by his office that profiled a “Nakba survivor” whose Palestinian family left Jerusalem in 1948.
The critics charge that the video presented a one-sided account of the moment in Middle East history that is designed to demonize and delegitimize Israel.
During a press conference in the Bronx on Monday, Mamdani defended the video and said that he had planned to appear in it before falling ill and backing out to protect the health of Inea Bushnaq, the 86-year-old woman featured.
Asked about the claim, made by the UJA-Federation of New York, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and others, that the video omitted crucial context — such as that Arab states attacked Israel and prevented Palestinians from taking refuge with them — Mamdani suggested that he was in fact restoring balance that had until now been missing.
“I firmly believe that acknowledging any one people’s pain does not preclude you from the acknowledgement of another people’s,” Mamdani said. “When it comes to New Yorkers like Inea and so many others, not only has their pain never been acknowledged, but so often we have seen that even their identity is up for debate, and my message to each and every New Yorker is that this is a city for you and that we will continue to be proud of everyone who calls it home.”
Mamdani’s comments came as Jews in the city openly debated whether it is appropriate to participate in events organized by the mayor, such as Monday night’s Shavuot celebration set for Gracie Mansion as part of Jewish American Heritage Month.
Dov Hikind, an Orthodox activist and former state lawmaker, said Jews should boycott the event, echoing a broader boycott call issued over the weekend by Rabbi Avi Weiss of the Bronx. In a post on X, Hikind said Jews who attend would “be exposed,” suggesting some form of possible campaign against attendees.
“Don’t be a patsy for @NYCMayor. Who will attend his event and betray the Jewish people?” Hikind tweeted. “Stay tuned as all who attend will be exposed. We will know soon enough.”
Some Jewish leaders, including at UJA and the JCRC, said they would not attend the event. But others who criticized Mamdani’s Nakba Day video said they were planning to show up.
“No one attending this event is endorsing the mayor’s views or suggesting that his Nakba post was anything less than outrageous and unacceptable,” tweeted Yaacov Behrman, a community activist affiliated with the Chabad-Lubavitch movement in Crown Heights.
“So please, enough with the drama about who is or isn’t going,” Behrman added. “We should be proud Jews, confident enough to speak our minds without fear and mature enough to act in the way we believe the moment demands.”
Alana Zeitchik, who emerged as an activist after her Israeli family members were held hostage in Gaza, posted on Instagram that she, too, was planning to show up at the mayor’s residence.
“I am exactly the kind of advocate the Jewish community should want to be present at a Jewish American Heritage event hosted by the mayor, yet some people in our community are coordinating a shame campaign instead,” Zeitchik wrote. “To be empowered one must show up not in spite of disagreements but precisely because of them and that’s exactly what I intend to do.”
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