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Mayor Zohran Mamdani tapped the head of a left-leaning Jewish organization as his antisemitism czar Thursday — but she’s already facing the ire of some Orthodox Jewish leaders.
Phylisa Wisdom, 39, the former executive director of the lefty organization New York Jewish Agenda will lead the Mayor’s Office to Combat Anti-Semitism.
“Phylisa is a respected leader and powerful voice in the fight against antisemitism in New York City, Albany and across the country,” Mamdani said in a statement. “Day in and day out, across all five boroughs, we will work together to root out antisemitism and build a New York City where Jewish New Yorkers are safe, respected, and free.”
While Mamdani is a known fierce critic of Israel — who supports the Palestinian-led boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against the Jewish state — the organization that Wisdom previously headed, NYJA, states it is made up of “liberal and progressive Zionists” and opposes BDS, according to its website.
Wisdom also previously worked for Yaffed, a group that pushes for oversight of secular education in yeshivas.
Brooklyn Councilman Simcha Felder claimed the organization “slanders yeshivas and has done irrevocable harm to the Jewish education system” — as he called Wisdom’s appointment a “shanda,” the Yiddish term for disgrace, and said that it should be withdrawn.
Felder said that although the office was created out of necessity due to rising antisemitism, the new head honcho could only fuel Jewish New Yorkers’ anxieties and be used to “whitewash and legitimize antisemitism.”
A 2023 Department of Education investigation found that 18 schools run by the Hasidic Jewish community failed to provide basic secular education requirements in violation of state law.
“New York City has long been a beacon of hope for the Jewish community,” Wisdom said in a statement. “We will continue to ensure that Jewish safety and belonging remains at the core of this administration’s vision for a more livable city.
“In a time of rising hatred and fear, I look forward to embracing this solemn responsibility—both to represent the diverse array of Jewish voices to City Hall in this critical moment, and to demonstrate the power of pluralistic democracy in the greatest city in the world,” she said.
In a Thursday interview with WNYC’s Brian Lehrer, Mamdani was pressed about the policy differences between him and Wisdom — noting her support for Israel existing as a Jewish state and for yeshiva reform.
“The differences of opinion we may have on the question of Israel and Palestine are not an impact on the importance and urgency we treat the fight against antisemitism in New York City,” he said.
Mamdani previously said he would focus on “compliance rather than punishment” when it came to yeshivas, and that cutting off funding would be “a step too far” for schools that fail to meet secular education standards.
“The Mayor and this administration believe that every child deserves a good, safe education that is both high quality and culturally relevant — and that private religious, non-public schools are a part of the fabric of our city’s education system,” Mamdani spokeswoman Dora Pekec said in a statement.
Moshe Davis, the head of the office under Mayor Eric Adams, raised concerns over the pick in a statement.
“I wish Phylisa well and genuinely hope she succeeds in making New York City safer for a Jewish community that is understandably on edge. That said, I am concerned about this appointment. The Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism was built to be operational, not symbolic,” he said.
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