Mamdani attends Hanukkah events, but no public menorah lightings
New York City mayor-elect goes to holiday gatherings hosted by leftist Jewish actor Mandy Patinkin, progressive advocacy group
by Luke Tress Follow You will receive email alerts from this author. Manage alert preferences on your profile page You will no longer receive email alerts from this author. Manage alert preferences on your profile page · The Times of IsraelNEW YORK — New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani made several appearances at Jewish events during the Hanukkah holiday, but did not attend any public menorah lightings.
The holiday came with baggage for Mamdani, due to the terror shooting at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia, and he risked pushback at public events.
After the massacre, some Jewish community advocates decried Mamdani’s past support for the phrase “Globalize the intifada,” as playing into threats against Jews. Mamdani has repeatedly said he would “discourage” the slogan, without condemning the phrase.
Mamdani issued unequivocal condemnation of the Sydney shooting, calling it a “vile act of antisemitic terror.”
After the massacre, Mamdani quietly visited the resting place of the late leader of the Chabad Hasidic movement, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. The Australia shooting targeted a Chabad event and killed members of the movement.
Chabad holds public menorah lightings at outdoor areas around the city.
On Saturday, Mamdani posted a video showing him attending a Hanukkah celebration at the home of actor Mandy Patinkin, a leftist Israel critic who endorsed Mamdani’s mayoral campaign.
The video showed Mamdani and Patinkin making latkes, lighting a menorah, and reciting Hanukkah prayers.
“As Jewish New Yorkers across our city prepare to light candles and mark the seventh night today, I wish you and your families a Hanukkah full of light and love,” Mamdani said in a statement.
He did not share any other posts about attending Hanukkah events.
On Thursday, Mamdani attended a private menorah lighting held by the New York Jewish Agenda progressive advocacy group for its supporters and community and elected partners.
Phylisa Wisdom, the head of the New York Jewish Agenda, said Mamdani had been invited to the event and was one of about 10 elected officials in attendance.
He spoke for about two minutes on the importance of making Jewish New Yorkers feel safe and appreciated in the city, and condemned the terror attack in Sydney, Wisdom said.
Last week, a high-level Mamdani appointee, Catherine Almonte Da Costa, resigned a day after her appointment when antisemitic comments she made on social media over a decade ago surfaced.
Mamdani accepted her resignation and said his team would update its vetting process. He maintained that he had been unaware of the posts, and that he would not have hired Da Costa had he been aware of them.