Mamdani unveils New York City antisemitism plan with security and education measures

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled a strategy on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, to combat antisemitism and hate crimes against Jewish New Yorkers. The plan proposes more security support for religious institutions, grants for prevention and victim support, and a greater focus on Jewish history in schools. It comes amid a rise in reported anti-Jewish hate crimes and leaves unresolved a dispute over how the city defines antisemitism.

Mamdani said the goal was to ‘confront the scourge of antisemitism now and in the future’. He said Jewish people make up about 12% of the city’s population but account for around half of its reported hate-crime victims. The strategy sets out proposed city actions; its announcement does not establish that the spending, school measures or security improvements have already taken effect.

What Mamdani’s antisemitism plan proposes

According to The Forward’s account of the 30-page strategy, the administration is putting $6.4 million into the Partners Against the Hate grant program, which offers grants of up to $10,000 for community initiatives. The funding is part of a $26 million investment announced earlier this year for the city’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes. The Jewish Community Relations Council of New York is to serve as an anchor organization, working with local groups on education, victim support, data collection and online hate.

The Forward reported that another $1 million is intended for a security program aimed especially at smaller religious institutions and vulnerable nonprofits that may not qualify for larger federal grants. Possible uses include stronger locks, shatter-resistant glass and security wands. The city also plans to restart a working group bringing together police, transportation officials and other agencies to help synagogues and Jewish cultural institutions assess threats and improve security.

Why the city says the measures are needed

The Forward reported that recent NYPD figures showed anti-Jewish incidents rose 8.5% in the first seven months of 2026 and that Jewish victims were involved in 57% of reported hate crimes. Those figures describe reported crimes over a specific period; they do not measure the effect of a strategy announced in September. Mamdani’s statement that Jewish New Yorkers account for around half of reported hate-crime victims describes the same broad concern without supplying an outcome for the new plan.

The new strategy follows more immediate security measures for the Jewish High Holy Days. At a September 9 city briefing, Mamdani said there would be an increased police presence outside synagogues and other Jewish religious and cultural locations. He said officials knew of no specific credible threat against New York at that time. That assessment was tied to the briefing date, and the holiday policing was a separate operation rather than evidence that the newly announced strategy had been implemented.

The unresolved dispute over defining antisemitism

The strategy does not adopt a formal definition of antisemitism, The Forward reported. Its account quoted the plan as saying the city can use its tools to combat antisemitism ‘without needing to adopt a definition for this specific form of hate’. The decision leaves open a longstanding disagreement over when opposition to Zionism or criticism of Israel crosses into antisemitism. That disagreement has been a source of tension between Mamdani and some Jewish organizations and leaders.

Phylisa Wisdom, who heads the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, told reporters the administration drew on multiple frameworks instead of choosing one definition, according to The Forward. She said its priority was protecting Jewish New Yorkers regardless of their politics. The Forward reported that her office held a five-borough listening tour with people of varied religious observance and political views, and that Wisdom said concerns raised in those conversations helped shape the strategy.

The decision drew differing responses. Jamie Beran, chief executive of Bend the Arc, supported leaving out a single formal definition, calling one unnecessary and a distraction from substantive policies, The Forward reported. The Anti-Defamation League had sought a clear definition and assurances about city contracts, pensions and procurement; according to The Forward, the strategy did not meet those demands. The report also said several Jewish elected officials and liberal and progressive Jewish organizations supported the rollout.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, praised elements of the plan but urged Mamdani to moderate his rhetoric about Israel, according to the Associated Press. Israel’s consul general in New York, Ofir Akunis, argued that the mayor’s position on Israel had endangered Jewish New Yorkers. Mamdani has said his criticism of Israel is distinct from antisemitism. Those competing views remain part of the debate around the strategy; the announcement does not resolve them.

What remains to be established

The announced sums, programs and partnerships describe the administration’s intended approach. The available reporting does not establish when each grant will be awarded, which institutions will receive security assistance, when school visits or public campaigns will expand, or whether the measures will reduce hate crimes. Those implementation details and results will determine how the strategy affects Jewish New Yorkers beyond the announcement.