An Open Letter from Rabbis and Cantors of New York
We, the undersigned rabbis and cantors of New York, write because the Jewish community sees with increasing clarity that threats to Jewish safety are growing, and too often those entrusted with leadership have responded with equivocation instead of moral clarity.
A new survey of Jewish voters confirms what we are hearing every day in our synagogues, schools, and communal institutions: concern over antisemitism is near universal. This anxiety is not isolated, partisan, or ideological. It cuts across boroughs, denominations, and political affiliations.
Significantly, most Jewish voters in New York believe Mayor Mamdani's refusal to condemn the phrase "globalize the Intifada" has directly emboldened pro-Hamas protesters, and most draw a direct connection between rising antisemitism and the normalization of anti-Zionism.
That concern is grounded in our lived communal experience. Though Jews comprise only about 10 percent of New York City's population, more than half of all confirmed hate crimes in the first quarter of this year targeted our community. That amounts to an anti-Jewish hate crime nearly every day in New York City.
Against this backdrop, Mayor Mamdani's veto of Intro 175, legislation that would have required clear safety plans at educational facilities, while safeguarding lawful peaceful protest, has only deepened the sense that Jewish security is not being treated with the urgency this moment demands. This veto told Jewish New Yorkers that practical measures to strengthen communal safety are negotiable.
Jewish New Yorkers need something very simple from our mayor: a clear and unequivocal recognition that excluding, stigmatizing, or targeting Jews because of a core Jewish value, support for Jewish self-determination in our historic homeland, is discrimination.
Being a Zionist does not mean supporting every policy of the state of Israel or any particular Israeli politician. It simply means affirming the right of the Jewish people to national dignity and self-determination, a belief held by the overwhelming majority of the Jewish community.
That belief must not become a pretext to make Jews targets for harassment, intimidation, or violence.
Therefore, we call on Mayor Mamdani to support legislation designed to better protect vulnerable institutions, to denounce rhetoric that demonizes Zionists, and to once and for all condemn, not merely discourage, calls to globalize the intifada.
For generations, New York has been the greatest center of Jewish life in America. Whether it remains so will depend on whether New York’s leaders are willing to defend Jewish dignity and Jewish safety with the clarity this moment requires.
Signed,
Rabbi David Gelfand, Manhattan, New York
Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, Manhattan, New York
Rabbi Gerald Weider, Brooklyn, New York
Rabbi David Ingber, Manhattan, New York
Cantor Alan Brava, Queens, New York
Rabbi Baruch Melman, Brooklyn, New York
Rabbi Scott Kalmikoff, Manhattan, New York
Rabbi Alan Berkowitz, Brooklyn, New York
Rabbi Joel Cohn, Bronx, New York
Cantor Zachary Konigsberg, Brooklyn, New York
Rabbi Aaron Chernick, Brooklyn, New York
Rabbi David Wise, Queens, New York
Rabbi Joshua Ben-Gideon, Manhattan, New York
Rabbi Rebecca Ben-Gideon, Manhattan, New York
Rabbi Samantha Natov, Manhattan, New York
Rabbi Sarah Cohen, Manhattan, New York
Cantor Nancy Bach, Manhattan, New York
Rabbi Shalom Carmy, Brooklyn, New York
Rabbi Eliezer Gevirtz, Bronx, New York
Rabbi Gerald Sussman, Staten Island, New York
Rabbi Dalia Samansky, Manhattan, New York
Rabbi Rena Rifkin, Manhattan, New York
Rabbi David Kalb, Bronx, New York
Rabbi Thomas Gardner, Bronx, New York
Rabbi Avinoam Sharon, Manhattan, New York
Cantor Kathy Barr, Bronx, New York
Cantor Dan Singer, Manhattan, New York
Rabbi Roy Feldman, Manhattan, New York
Cantor Marc Szechter, Manhattan, New York
Rabbi Allen Schwartz, Manhattan, New York
RabbinicalStudent ChaiMo haLevi Landas, Brooklyn, New York
RabbiDr. Jeffrey Kobrin, Bronx, New York
Rabbi Elchanan Weinbach, New York, New York
Rabbi Gary Greene, Queens, New York
Rabbi Daniel Graber, Queens, New York
Rabbi Romiel Daniel, Queens, New York
Rabbi Ellen Flax, New York, New York
Rabbi Kevin Peters, Staten Island, New York
Rabbi Yehuda Azancot, Brooklyn, New York
Rabbi Etan Tokayer, Brooklyn, New York
Rabbi Eli Rabinowitz, Brooklyn, New York
Rabbi Ira Grussgott, Brooklyn, New York
Rabbi Doniel Kramer, Brooklyn, New York
Rabbi Moshe-Avraham Birnbaum, Queens, New York
Rabbi Jacob Rubinstein, Woodmere, New York
Rabbi Shoshana Hantman, Katonah, New York
Cantor Sergei Schwartz, Roslyn Heights, New York
Cantor Elena Schwartz, Roslyn Heights, New York
Cantor Star Wahnon, Center Moriches, New York
Rabbi Dale Polakoff, Great Neck, New York
Rabbi Michael Klayman, Mineola, New York
Rabbi Elie Weinstock, Atlantic Beach, New York
Rabbi MichaelD. Baum, Merrick, New York
Rabbi Michele Medwin, Upper Nyack, New York
Rabbi Moshe Weisblum, Wantagh, New York
Rabbi Mark Diamone, Rye Brook, New York
Rabbi Jonathan Morgenstern, Scarsdale, New York
Rabbi Deborah Tract, Jericho, New York
Rabbi Charles P. Rabinowitz, Larchmont, New York
Rabbi Lawrence Zierler, South Fallsburg, New York
Rabbi Charles Klein, Westbury, New York
Rabbi David Berkman, New City, New York
Rabbi Rafi Rank, Syosset, New York
Rabbi Ira Ebbin, Merrick, New York
Rabbi David Lerner, Rockville Centre, New York
Rabbi Paul Kurland, New City, New York
Rabbi Howard Stecker, Great Neck, New York
Rabbi Joshua Dorsch, Merrick, New York
Rabbi Marc Disick, Armonk, New York
Rabbi Matt Cutler, Schenectady, New York
Hazzan Lori Weber, New City, New York
Rabbi Claudio Kupchik, Roslyn, New York
Rabbi Galina Makaveyev, Lawrence, New York
Rabbi Dov Winston, Rochester, New York
Rabbi Jason Fruithandler, Woodbury, New York
Rabbi Daniel Wolpe, Fresh Meadows, New York
Copyright © 2026 The Jewish Majority - All Rights Reserved.
This website uses cookies.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.