Mayor Zohran Mamdani spent Tuesday night making the rounds at two sukkahs in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, sitting down with families during the weeklong holiday of Sukkot even as the city's Jewish community remains divided over his record on Israel and antisemitism. His first stop was the sukkah of Devorah Halberstam, whose son Ari was murdered in the 1994 Brooklyn Bridge terrorist attack.
According to crownheights.info, Mamdani's visit included stops at two local sukkahs, with Governor Kathy Hochul, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and City Council Speaker Julie Menin also present at Halberstam's sukkah. The mayor later visited the sukkah of Rabbi Yaacov Behrman, who told JNS that he hosted the mayor in his personal capacity rather than in any official Chabad role.
Behrman said the conversation stayed close to the holiday itself. “We spoke about Sukkot, family and the lessons of the sukkah,” he told JNS, adding that his family offered the mayor a blessing: “We blessed the mayor that he should be a uniter and bring New Yorkers together.”
A Mixed Reception in Brooklyn
Not every Crown Heights resident greeted the visit warmly. As WABC-TV reported, Mamdani received a mixed response from Brooklyn's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, with some residents opposing his participation in Sukkot events over his past statements against Israel while others welcomed him simply because he is the mayor. One resident told the station that showing up for Sukkot is the job of every politician, while another described watching Mamdani celebrate the holiday alongside Jewish New Yorkers as amazing.
Per the station's report, Mamdani has criticized the Israeli government, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accuse him of spreading antisemitic rhetoric. Mamdani rejected that accusation and said criticism of the Israeli prime minister or his government does not change his administration's responsibility to keep Jewish New Yorkers safe. The mayor, who is New York City's first Muslim mayor according to The New York Times, has said he accepts criticism as part of the job and that his role is to deliver for people regardless of their opinions.
City Hall's New Antisemitism Strategy
The Crown Heights visits came hours after City Hall unveiled its first strategy to combat antisemitism, a plan the same WABC-TV report says drew criticism for not including a definition of antisemitism, even as it set aside millions of dollars for education, outreach and synagogue security. Speaking to Israel Hayom, Mamdani said, “We will combat all forms of antisemitism.”
Israel Hayom reports the strategy doubles hate-prevention grants to community organizations to $6.4 million and adds $1 million to secure synagogues and other houses of worship. JTA reports the plan also directs $2.5 million to The Center for New Jewish Culture, building on a previously announced $2 million investment in a Holocaust memorial at Queens Borough Hall. Still, JTA notes that major Jewish organizations have raised concerns that the strategy does not directly address anti-Israel rhetoric, even as other Jewish organizations and leaders have welcomed the administration's increased investment in security.
A Rising Toll, By the Numbers
The debate over the city's approach comes against a backdrop of rising incidents. Israel Hayom cites an 8.5% rise in anti-Jewish incidents over the first seven months of 2026, and reports that Jews were the target of 57% of the hate crimes reported citywide in 2025. The Anti-Defamation League has tracked a record 976 antisemitic incidents in New York City in 2024, the highest count recorded in any U.S. city that year, according to the ADL.
The ADL also found that the share of New York City antisemitic incidents tied to Israel or Zionism climbed sharply, from 5% in 2022 to 37% in 2023 and 58% in 2024. A UJA-Federation survey cited by the ADL found that nearly half of Jewish adults in the New York area fear for their safety as Jews at specific places or events at least some of the time.
Other Officials Also Made the Rounds
Mamdani was not the only political figure to visit a Crown Heights sukkah this week. Nassau County Executive and Republican gubernatorial nominee Bruce Blakeman visited a Crown Heights sukkah and joined dancing at the communal Simchas Beis Hashoeva the night before, per crownheights.info's earlier report previewing the mayor's anticipated visit.
