In a first, NYC mayor launches Jewish advisory council
New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Oct. 12, 2022. Photo by Benny Polatseck/Mayoral Photography Office
By Jacob Kornbluh June 26, 2023
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is expected to announce Monday the creation of a panel of advisers on Jewish-related issues.
City Hall officials said the inaugural Jewish Advisory Council will be an inclusive group of 37 members, rabbis and leaders who together represent the spectrum of the city’s Jewish community. It will convene regularly to discuss public safety, education and quality of life issues among other topics. It will be chaired by Joel Eisdorfer, a member of the Hasidic community in Borough Park, who serves as the mayor’s senior adviser.
Adams will speak at the panel’s launch meeting at City Hall Monday evening.
“With antisemitic crimes up across the nation, our newly-formed Jewish Advisory Council will ensure that Jewish New Yorkers in every community have a seat at the table and have access to the support and resources the city offers,” Adams said in a statement first shared with the Forward.
About 1.1 million of New York’s 8.5 million residents are Jewish, the largest concentration of Jews outside of Israel.
Adams received significant Jewish support, including from Orthodox voting blocs, in the 2021 race for mayor. Some of Adams’ closest aides are Jewish. In addition to Eisdorfer, they include Menashe Shapiro, a Manhattan resident, who serves as deputy chief of staff, and Fred Kreizman, commissioner for community affairs.
Earlier this year, Adams launched an initiative called “Breaking Bread, Building Bonds,” which encourages New Yorkers to organize and host at least 1,000 meals citywide with people from different racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds. Adams called it “revolutionary” and boasted that New York is “leading the way” in the fight against hate and bias.
Jewish leaders appointed to the panel hailed the mayor’s commitment to counter antisemitism and ensure that the Jewish community has meaningful representation in City Hall.
Rabbi Joanna Samuels, chief executive of the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, said she eagerly anticipates working alongside her colleagues “to ensure that the diverse Jewish community of our city has a seat at the table when important decisions are made.”
David Greenfield, chief executive of the Met Council, which bills itself as the nation’s largest Jewish anti-poverty charity, also noted Adams’ “groundbreaking” appointment of Eisdorfer, the first Hasidic Jew to serve in a senior administration role.
Eisdorfer, a longtime ally of Adams, praised the mayor as a leader who “proudly, vocally, and physically stands with the Jewish community at every opportunity.” He added that the creation of this council shows that for Adams, “actions speak louder than words.”
Here is the full list of members on the Jewish Advisory Council:
Rabbi Rachel Ain, Rabbi Joseph Beyda, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, Rabbi Joshua Davidson, Abe Eisner, Rabbi Danielle Ellman, Rabbi Efraim Fink, Shia Friedman, Rabbi Diana Gerson, David Greenfield, Amy Guss, Devorah Halberstam, Rabbi Moshe Indig, Yossi Itzkowitz, Rabbi Yechiel Kalish, Jack Kliger, Rabbi Bini Kraus, Rabbi Yossi Levine, Ruth Lichtenstein, Rabbi Mendy Mirocznik, Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov, Shimi Pelman, Howard Pollack, Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, Hindy Poupko, Alex Rapaport, Rabbi Boruch Rothman, Rabbi Joanna Samuels, Joe Shamie, Rabbi Daniel Sherman, Rabbi Chanina Sperlin, Mina Sputz, Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, Rabbi Yaakov Tesser, Steve Weill, Rabbi Itzak Yehoshua and Rabbi Dovid Zirkind.
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