“The security situation for the Jewish community in New York could deteriorate in January 2026 if Zohran Mamdani is elected mayor," said Mitchell D. Silber, who directs the Community Security Initiative (CSI), which is responsible for safeguarding Jewish institutions in the New York metropolitan area.
In an interview with Walla that was published Friday, Silber, known simply as “Mitch,” appeared a little uneasy when talking about the deterioration of personal security for Jews in New York City. As a security expert, he noted his worry about what may come after the upcoming municipal elections.
"This is someone who says there is nothing wrong with chanting ‘From the river to the sea.’ We need to remember that in New York City, the mayor controls the police and the police commissioner. The mayor’s opinion determines how the police are used—whether to protect communities or to allow demonstrations to spiral out of control. From a security standpoint, these are the kinds of things that deeply concern me about the coming election. I hope I’m wrong.”
Previously, Silber was head of intelligence analysis at the NYPD and co-authored a landmark report on the threat of radicalization in the West. He has also written important books on al-Qaeda and ISIS.
Mitch is a guest lecturer at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where he teaches a course on the threat of modern terrorism in urban environments.
Silber also has a longstanding personal connection to Israel. Raised as a passionate Zionist, he came to Israel as a student through the Marva program, which aims to strengthen Jewish youth’s connection to Israel through IDF training. He was there in the summer of 1990, “just as Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, straight into chemical warfare drills.” He says the experience connected him directly to Israel’s security reality and deepened his commitment to the safety of the Jewish people.
A decade later, in New York after the September 11 attacks, Silber left a successful Wall Street career and returned to Columbia University. From there, he was recruited to the NYPD, becoming a senior figure in intelligence and counterterrorism. The report he helped author is still considered a foundational text in understanding “lone wolf” attackers.
Five sources of danger
1. Silber stresses that today’s threat landscape is entirely different from that after 9/11. Back then, the main concern was attacks inspired by al-Qaeda and ISIS. Today, he says, “the Jewish community faces five distinct sources of threat simultaneously.”
2. Global Jihad: “Even if the organizations are weaker, their ideology still inspires individuals.” He recalls a foiled ISIS-inspired attack in Brooklyn just last year. “One lone attacker is enough to cause devastation.”
3. Neo-Nazis and white supremacists: “They have carried out the deadliest attacks against Jews—the murder of 11 worshippers in Pittsburgh and another killing at a Chabad synagogue in Poway, California.”
4. The Black Hebrew Israelites: African-American religious groups claiming to be the true descendants of the Israelites. Members of the movement murdered three Jews in New Jersey in 2019.
5. Hamas-inspired and far-left violence: “This doesn’t stay at the slogan level. We’ve already seen physical assaults carried out in solidarity with Hamas.” As for Iran and Hezbollah, “There have been cells here gathering intelligence on synagogues, bridges, and more—preparation for the moment they might be activated.”
New daily reality
For Jews, the direct consequence is a new reality of daily caution. “As a lifelong New Yorker, it saddens me to admit this,” Silber says. “But today, to be openly Jewish in New York, you have to think twice before doing certain things. People seriously ask themselves if they want to wear a Chai necklace or a Star of David pendant outside? On the other hand, some jewelers report record sales of Star of David jewelry, with people saying that now more than ever, they want to show pride in their Jewish identity, which October 7 reawakened that part of them. So there are trends in both directions.”
He compares the situation to France, where many Jews became “invisible Jews.” “That’s not the case yet in New York. But this is the first time Jews in the city have to stop and ask themselves whether to be visible or to hide. Until October 7, this really wasn’t a consideration.”
The change also affects community events. In the past, notifying the police was a courtesy; today, every public gathering requires full security arrangements. “We ask every Jewish organization: if you’re hosting an event, let us know. We’ll notify the police, and only then can you be sure a patrol car will be there,” he says. The US, he adds, is becoming more like Europe, “where police cars are permanently stationed outside Jewish institutions.”
Hate crimes rising, police numbers falling
One of his central warnings concerns the NYPD itself. Once numbering about 40,000 officers, the force is now estimated at under 34,000, while hate crimes in the city are rising. A report published by the NYC municipality in August 2024 showed that between 2019 and 2023, hate crimes increased by 59.3%. Of these, 44% were religiously motivated, and about 88% of those targeted Jews.
The NYPD’s 2024 report recorded 345 antisemitic incidents, accounting for 54% of all reported hate crimes in the city.
“This is one of the best police departments in the world,” Silber stresses, “but at any given moment, something is happening in the city, and they simply don’t have enough officers on the ground. The result is manpower shortages—citywide, not just in Brooklyn.” This is despite the daily antisemitic assaults, many of which go unreported: spitting, insults, physical attacks.
Changing campus climate
The shift is also dramatic on campuses. Silber knows Columbia University well—not only as a professor and former student but as a lifelong New Yorker. Some Jewish students have chosen not to come to campus out of fear of being attacked. “This is something we’ve never seen before,” he admits, warning of long-term consequences: “If a young generation internalizes that it’s better to hide their identity, they may continue hiding it into adulthood.”
The comparison to Europe is troubling: “That’s exactly how it started there—on campuses—and it escalated into street violence.” He hopes that after suspensions and expulsions of students involved in last year’s campus riots, the message has been delivered and deterrence achieved. But he cautions: “Time will tell. We’re only at the start of a new academic year.”
The lone wolf fear
Silber was also asked in the interview which threat against the Jews is the most dangerous.
“I’m concerned about a range of threats, internal and external. But I’m particularly troubled by terrorism from the far left. We haven’t seen that in the US for a long time, and suddenly it’s resurfacing in Washington, DC. Fortunately, Hamas has never really had significant operational capabilities abroad, so it’s unlikely they’ll send agents to New York to attack Jews. The same goes for ISIS, although last fall, a man in Canada was arrested who was ISIS-inspired and focused on a high-profile Brooklyn site.
“But if there’s one thing that keeps me up at night, it’s the ‘lone wolf’ - the individual attacker. One person, with no organization, no orders, no intelligence network that can be tracked, intercepted, or disrupted,” he continued. He recalls the 2017 Las Vegas massacre and the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, both carried out with almost no warning.
Looking towards the future
Silber will be one of the keynote speakers at the annual International Conference on Counter-Terrorism next week in memory of Shabtai Shavit, hosted by the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at Reichman University. This year’s theme: “Israel in the Eye of the Global Storm.”
The conference will take place Monday–Thursday, September 15–18, 2025, at the Daniel Hossidman Conference Center at Reichman University, with participation from senior security officials (past and present), politicians, public figures, international leaders, and top counter-terrorism experts from Israel and around the world.