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By Giulia Carbonaro
Senior Reporter
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Freshly after his inauguration on January 1, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani sparked criticism among Jewish civil rights groups for the elimination of some posts about combating antisemitism from the official mayor X account.
The National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC), a nonprofit combating antisemitism in the U.S., has accused the 34-year-old Democrat of deleting officials @NYCMayor posts published by his predecessor Eric Adams on December 31 as one of his “very firsts acts” as mayor of the Big Apple.
The elimination of the posts which praised Adams’ work in fighting antisemitism in the city “is not merely tone-deaf, it is shameful,” the group wrote in a letter addressed to Mamdani.
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A spokesperson for the mayor said in a statement shared by the New York Post that Mamdani’s team has simply been archiving social media posts from the previous administration “in chronological order.”
Newsweek has reached out to Mamdani’s office and NJAC for comment by email on Friday morning, outside of standard working hours.
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Why It Matters
Criticism of Israel and its invasion of the Gaza Strip, which followed a series of attacks against the country conducted by Hamas on October 7, 2023, has become fraught and controversial in the U.S., a historic partner of the Jewish state.
During his mayoral campaign, Mamdani was repeatedly attacked by his rivals and members of the Republican Party for his critical stance on Israel and his embrace of the Palestinian cause, with conservatives trying to portray him as a threat to the New York City Jewish community.
But recent polls show that Americans’ views on antisemitism and Israel have changed over the past two years of war in Gaza, which have claimed the lives of over 70,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. A recent Gallup survey found that Americans’ sympathy for Israel hit an all-time low in 2025, falling beneath 50 percent for the first time in almost 25 years.
At the same time, concerns over growing antisemitism in the country have grown in recent months. Between 2021 and 2025, the share of U.S. adults who said they were “very” or “somewhat” satisfied with how Jewish people are treated fell from about 50 percent to 42 percent, the same Gallup survey found.
In its latest annual survey conducted in October and November 2024, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) found that roughly 9 in 10 Jewish Americans said antisemitism had increased in the country the previous five years and since the Oct. 7 attacks.
What To Know
Mamdani, who was inaugurated on January 1 as New York City’s first Muslim mayor, has taken over the official mayoral X account which, until December 31, Adams’ team still had access to.
A series of three posts published by Adams on December 31, which touted the city’s “first-ever municipal report” on combating antisemitism, shows that two have been deleted, while the last one has not.
This reads: “This administration put the tools into place to protect Jewish New Yorkers and fight hate. We’re calling on every elected official to do the same.”
The post also features a link to a report from the Adams administration about its efforts to combat antisemitism.
In its letter addressed to the freshly minted mayor, NJAC alleges that the deletion of the posts is not only a reason for “serious concern” but also potentially a breach of the city’s charter, which says that all social media posts are considered public record.
NJAC Director Mark Goldfeder wrote on X that the letter was also sent to the Department of Investigation’s Commissioner, and the Conflicts of Interest Board’s Executive Director.
Mamdani spokesperson Dora Pekec said that the deletion of the post was not selective nor based on content, but of “administrative nature.”
In its letter, NJAC stated that even if the posts were archived, as Pekec said, “the choice to delete statements specifically addressing Jewish safety on Day One invites scrutiny and erodes public trust.”
What People Are Saying
The National Jewish Advocacy Center wrote in its letter to Mamdani: “It is difficult to overstate how disturbing it is that one of your very first acts as Mayor of New York City, on your very first day in office, was to delete official @NYCMayor tweets addressing the protection of Jewish New Yorkers.
“At a moment of unprecedented antisemitic intimidation, violence, and exclusion in the City the decision to erase official statements affirming the safety and protection of Jews is not merely tone-deaf, it is shameful. It sends a message, whether intended or not, that Jewish New Yorkers are uniquely underserving of continuity, clarity, or reassurance from their own government.”
Mamdani spokesperson Dora Pekec said, in a statement reported by the New York Post: “The Mayor’s team has begun archiving posts from the @NYCMAYOR account that were published by the previous administration, in chronological order. This ongoing process is administrative in nature and is not based on the content of the posts.”
She added: “The Mayor remains steadfast in his commitment to root out the scourge of antisemitism in our City and will deliver on his commitment to renewing the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism and increasing funding for the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes by 800 percent.”
What Happens Next
Mamdani has promised to be a mayor for all New Yorkers, including the city’s large Jewish community. In one of his first announcements as mayor, Mamdani said on January 1 that he was retaining the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, which was recently created by Adams.
“That is an issue that we take very seriously, and as part of the commitment that we’ve made to Jewish New Yorkers, to not only protect them, but to celebrate,” he said on Thursday.
On the same day, he also formally revoked all executive orders issued by the previous administration, including the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, in a move that has sparked backlash among some conservative-leaning Jewish advocates.
The debate over Mamdani’s stance on Israel has also had another effect on social media, where it is fueling anti-Muslim feelings. Goldfeder’s post on X sharing the letter sent to Mamdani’s office received several responses by users accusing Mamdani of wanting to eliminate Jews because that is what his religion would allegedly tell him to do, as well as a picture of 9/11.
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