Tipsheet

In Mamdani's New York, Cheering for Hamas Is Now the Norm

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  January 09, 2026 7:30 AM

Mobs of anti-Israel, antisemitic protesters descended on the Park East Synagogue in New York before Thanksgiving to "protest" an event held by Nefesh B'nefesh, an organization that helps Jews immigrate to Israel. The event was about migrating to Israel, and the protesters didn't like that. They blocked the entrance to the synagogue and harassed Jews, including 93-year-old Rabbi Arthur Schneier, a Holocaust survivor.

Then mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani blamed the Jews and Nefesh B'nefesh for the protest, claiming the organization and event "violated international law."

Now it appears the same group that protested outside the Park East Synagogue was targeting more Jewish events in and around New York City.

They planned to protest at another Nefesh B'nefesh in Manhattan on Wednesday, according to the poster and at Kew Garden Hills on Thursday.

It appears the Manhattan event was canceled because the protesters were unable to locate the event.

"Because of our announced protest, settler agency Nefesh B'nefesh has been forced into the shadows. Their extreme vetting of attendees has hampered outreach and vastly limited their ability to recruit settlers," the post read. "Our planned action tonight to protest the settler recruitment event is being canceled."

On January 6, New York State Assembly member Sam Berger issued a statement on the Kew Gardens protest.

That statement read:

A year and a half ago, this same group protested a similar event, which quickly descended into vile displays of antisemitism and open support for terrorist organizations whose stated goal is the complete destruction of Israel and the Jewish people. That context matters and it cannot be ignored.

During that previous incident, protestors stood across the street, more than one hundred feet away, yet the distance did nothing to prevent a stream of antisemitic chants, tropes and harassment. Criticism of Israel is not the issue. The concern is when those arguments are used as a cover for blatant antisemitism, which is exactly what happened last time.

This makes the Mayor’s decision, just hours after taking office, to rescind IHRA all the more concerning, especially in light of the Governor’s recent assertion that this change does not weaken protections in the state. That reassurance does not align with the NYPD’s own incident report released today, which shows that Jewish New Yorkers account for 57 percent of all hate crimes in the city, with 330 reported incidents, while the next group experienced 52. Without IHRA as a guiding standard, the city lacks a reliable framework to recognize when extremist language is being laundered as political discourse, leaving communities vulnerable in moments exactly like this.

I have been in contact with the commanding officer of the 107th Precinct and with Queens Shmira, and am assured they are taking this very seriously and that the community will be protected and public safety will remain the priority throughout this scheduled protest.

Everyone has the right to protest, but it is not a license to target and harass the Jewish people.

It appears the Kew Gardens Hills protest did take place, and listen to what the protesters were saying:

Do they have any idea what supporting Hamas really means? Yes, they do. They hate Israel and Jews so much that they will embrace a vile terrorist organization and publicly chant it out loud.

It's disgusting, but it's also the norm in Mamdani's New York City, it seems.