ADL chief attacks Zohran Mamdani, but gets his facts wrong
Jonathan Greenblatt falsely claimed Mamdani hasn’t visited synagogues or engaged Jewish groups
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, left, and NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, right. Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Anti-Defamation League and Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
By Jacob Kornbluh August 18, 2025
Jonathan Greenblatt, the Anti-Defamation League CEO, sharply criticized Zohran Mamdani in a TV appearance on Monday for his refusal to outright condemn the “globalize the intifada” slogan. The ADL chief also wrongly claimed that the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor hasn’t visited a single synagogue or any Jewish institutions during the campaign.
“I think there are questions we should ask right now, like, this candidate has visited churches and mosques, not a single synagogue,” Greenblatt said in an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box.
Contrary to Greenblatt’s assertion, Mamdani attended Shabbat services in Park Slope in February, visited the offices of the UJA Federation for a town hall co-hosted with the Jewish Community Relations Council in May, and participated in two candidate forums at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in Manhattan in June.
“This candidate has gone to Harlem to meet the Black community; Washington Heights, to meet the Latino community; Chinatown, to meet the Asian American community. Not once to a Jewish neighborhood,” Greenblatt said.
Mamdani, who is Muslim, has faced scrutiny for his unapologetically critical views of Israel and his embrace of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Nonetheless, during the Democratic mayoral primary, he made an effort to reach out to the more than 700,000 Jewish voters in New York, including a visit to an annual legislative breakfast in Flatbush, a heavily Orthodox neighborhood in Brooklyn with a politically conservative electorate.
A spokesperson for the ADL said, “Jonathan was talking about engagement after the primary, when voters now have their options before them and it matters most. To our knowledge, the candidate hasn’t gone to a mainstream synagogue or Jewish organization since the primary ended.”
Greenblatt also wrongly claimed that Mamdani didn’t reach out to Hasidic voters in their native Yiddish language. But Mamdani gave an interview to a Yiddish-language Hasidic newspaper, and there were photos circulating on social media showing pro-Mamdani Yiddish-language campaign posters on a pole in Borough Park.
Mamdani is also relying on a senior team of Jewish professionals for his campaign.
Since trouncing Cuomo in the Democratic primary by 12 points, Mamdani has reiterated his commitment to the safety of Jewish New Yorkers and his willingness to meet with Jewish leaders. A recent survey showed Mamdani leading in the general election with the largest share of Jewish voters, 37%.
Greenblatt said he doesn’t believe polls showing Mamdani with significant support among Jewish voters. “I know something about this candidate,” he said. “He hasn’t been to any of the mainstream Jewish institutions. I mean, I haven’t heard from him. I don’t think the heads of most of the major Jewish groups have.”
Greenblatt added: “He went to meet Rev. Sharpton in Harlem? Why hasn’t he met any mainstream Jewish leaders in a public forum where his views can be aired? I think we know why. Because I think he was a Students for Justice in Palestine organizer who proposed legislation in Albany to restrict the ability of Jews to donate, or anyone to donate, to Israeli organizations.”
Mamdani did sponsor legislation to penalize charities supporting Israeli settlements. His critics said it targeted, in part, Jewish organizations and nonprofits assisting families of terror victims or providing support for units of the Israel Defense Forces. Mamdani indicated he would implement some form of Israel boycott as mayor, saying he would end some Adams administration policies he regarded as illegal, but did not go into detail. “International law is something that we should actually bring our city into compliance with,” he said during a candidate forum.
The Democratic nominee is backed by several Jewish elected officials, including Rep. Jerry Nadler, co-chair of the Congressional Jewish Caucus. Ruth Messinger, the trailblazing Jewish political leader who in 1997 became the first and only woman to win the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor, endorsed Mamdani last week.
Greenblatt sets conditions for a Mamdani meeting
The ADL chief said he’d only meet with Mamdani “under clear circumstances,” including it being a public meeting. “I won’t be used by Mamdani,” he said. “And it’s amazing that there are other Jewish leaders who are willing to do that.”
“Why won’t he condemn ‘globalize the intifada’?” Greenblatt asked rhetorically. “Because he believes it. I mean, I think we have to take people at their word.”
During the primary and following his victory, Mamdani hedged on a call to condemn the slogan. But he said he would “discourage” the use of that phrase after hearing from Jewish leaders who experienced the bus bombings during the Second Intifada in the early 2000s.
The ADL’s statement sent to the Forward said, “There’s a world of difference between strongly condemning a violent, antisemitic slogan and merely discouraging people not to use the phrase.”
Greenblatt has come under fire in recent months over his organization’s broad labeling of criticism of Israel as antisemitic. He also faced backlash for comparing pro-Palestinian student protesters to Islamist terrorists in comments he made to Republican attorneys general.
