New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani sought input from leaders of the city's Jewish community before criticizing pro-Hamas chants, The New York Times reported on Saturday.
Mamdani's criticism was in response to an anti-Israel protest held on January 8 during a Nefesh B’Nefesh event aimed at providing information to those considering aliyah. Protesters stood outside the synagogue in which the event took place until around 10 p.m. while chanting and shouting pro-Hamas and anti-Israel slogans.
During the protest, Mamdani made no public comment. The first statement he made on the topic came the following day, after a news conference, when he briefly condemned the language on his way to his car.
An official statement was released at 3:40 p.m. in response to The New York Times, and he made a more thorough statement on X/Twitter at around 6:30 p.m.
At the time, the hesitancy to release a full and immediate condemnation was criticised by some as another signifier of Mamdani's pro-Palestinian attitude and suspected antisemitism.
The Times, however, reported that Mamdani's delay was due to extensive back-and-forth with local Jewish community leaders to ensure his message was effective and fair.
According to the Times, Mamdani's official response underwent multiple revisions throughout the day, each of which was reviewed by Jewish officials to identify potential points of concern.
Jewish leaders review Mamdani's statements
The first draft, written by Mamdani's liaison to Jewish New Yorkers, Josh Binderman, was rejected for failing to forcefully condemn Hamas. A draft written later effectively criticized the pro-Hamas chants, but also mentioned the Jewish Defense League, which is designated by the FBI as a terrorist organization. Jewish leaders warned against drawing an equivalence between the two groups, and the message was altered again.
In total, at least four drafts of Mamdani's response were drafted and shared with Jewish leaders for revision. By the time a final version was approved and released, it was already sundown on Shabbat, and many Jews did not see it.
"As I said earlier today, chants in support of a terrorist organization have no place in our city," Mamdani said in his final statement. "We will continue to ensure New Yorkers’ safety entering and exiting houses of worship as well as the constitutional right to protest."