Mayor Zohran Mamdani plans to meet with some Jewish leaders Monday amid concerns he and his wife have been hostile to worries about anti-Israel rhetoric — but critics say it’s nothing more than a “photo op.’’
The sit-down is expected to cater mainly to Orthodox Jewish community leaders, including at least one who endorsed Mamdani for mayor, as opposed to mainstream Jewish advocacy groups — and last just 15 to 20 minutes, disgusted sources said.
One Jewish leader declined to attend the session after learning the Muslim mayor would only briefly be there, calling it an “insult” and a “photo-op,” according to a source briefed on the meeting.
Rabbi Moshe Indig — a leader of a Satmar sect in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, who stirred controversy by endorsing Mamdani for mayor last year — confirmed that he, for one, will be attending.
“It’s a meeting with Jewish community leaders. I don’t know the topic. We’ll see,” Indig told The Post on Sunday.
Rabbi David Niederman, president and executive director of the United Jewish Organization of Williamsburg, which has received millions of dollars in city funding over the years to provide services to the Jewish community in Brooklyn, is also expected to attend, according to a source.
Sources said mainstream Jewish advocacy groups such as the Anti-Defamation League/United Jewish Appeal, the Jewish Community Relations Council and the American Jewish Committee are not attending.
“We were not invited,” said Scott Richman, New York-NJ regional director of the ADL.
He said the meeting appeared to involve orthodox Jewish community leaders.
The mayor’s office had no immediate comment.
Mamdani’s anti-Israel views strained relations with many in the Jewish community during last year’s mayoral campaign, and he has has struggled to defuse tensions since taking office.
He was roundly criticized for hosting anti-Israel activist and accused Hamas sympathizer Mahmoud Khalilat Gracie Mansion for Ramadan last week. The widespread rebukes came from President Trump’s office as well as Jewish activists.
Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, who also is Muslim, faced criticism herself after it was revealed she “liked” an Instagram post from February 2024 questioning that Hamas committed sexual violence against Israelis during the Oct. 7, 2023, slaughter and also “liked’ another post sharing murderous images of the attack.
Duwaji, a Syrian-American artist, previously created artwork for an essay book compiled by an anti-Israel activist who has described Jewish people as “vampires,” “demons” and “ghouls” and celebrated the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel.
The ADL, one of the nation’s leading groups fighting antisemitism and other forms of bigotry, has been particularly critical of the mayor and his spouse.
“Collaborating on a project with Susan Abulhawa goes beyond First Lady Duwaji’s deeply troubling liking of pro-October 7 posts reported last week and demonstrates a troubling pattern,” the ADL said.
“Antisemitic rhetoric has fueled attacks against Jewish communities in the US and around the world for centuries. Antisemitism cannot be ignored and should never be justified.”
As for Mamdani inviting Khalil and his family over to Gracie Mansion for a Ramadan dinner, an ADL spokesman said in a statement, “Welcoming someone known for justifying the October 7 Hamas terror attacks as an honored guest at Gracie Mansion — while some in the Mayor’s inner circle have amplified antisemitic content and posts dismissing the atrocities of that day — sends a deeply troubling message.
“Gracie Mansion belongs to all New Yorkers. Public office must never be used to legitimize hate, and New York’s Jewish community deserves a mayor who makes that clear in both words and actions.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul said Sunday that National Guard troops are stationed around the city — including at synagogues and other sensitive locations — as the US and Israel join forces to pummel Iran’s cruel regime.
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