Two Crown Heights Politicians Break Ranks, Attend Mamdani Pre-Shavuos Holiday Party
by CrownHeights.info
As the Mamdani Administration’s Pre-Shavuos Jewish Heritage Month Event drew closer, Jewish public officials, activists, and community leaders across the Jewish community united and announced that they would not be joining the event. Two Crown Heights politicians broke ranks, and joined Satmar at the controversial event.
Devorah Halberstam of Tzivos Hashem’s Jewish Children’s Museum and Rabbi Yaacov Behrman the Director of Operation Survival joined the event Monday alongside representatives of Satmar and Jews for Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ), New York Jewish Agenda (NYJA), Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).
Many mainstream Jewish groups such as the UJA-Federation of New York and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC-NY) boycotted the event. Also notably absent were Jewish public officials including New York City Comptroller Mark Levine, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, and Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal.
The boycott stemmed from growing anti-Israel rhetoric and charged political appointments by the Mamdani Administration. Most recently, a video published by the administration highlighted “Nakba Day”, and was roundly condemned across the Jewish community.
In an X post prior to the event, Rabbi Behrman justified his attendance at the event, saying “No one attending this event is endorsing the mayor’s views or suggesting that his Nakba post was anything less than outrageous and unacceptable. This is not really about going or not going. It is about the why, and about how a person conducts himself in general. Was Mordechai considered a traitor to the Jewish people because of his position in government? A traitor does what is best for himself, whether for image or personal gain. A leader does what he genuinely believes is right for his community. Going for personal gain or refusing to go for personal gain are ultimately the same thing.”
At the event, Mayor Mamdani announced an annual $26 million to expand hate crime prevention efforts through the Office to Prevent Hate Crimes. Soon after the event, it was also announced that he plans not to attend the Israel Day Parade, breaking a long standing tradition of NYC Mayors.
