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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s new antisemitism czar once said she was “floored” by a social media post condemning Hamas for firing rockets toward civilian population centers in Israel.
In 2021, Phylisa Wisdom, the executive director of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, criticized a post by then-mayoral candidate Andrew Yang, who scolded Hamas terrorists, the New York Post reported.
In his post, Yang said that New Yorkers “always stand with our brothers and sisters in Israel who face down terrorism and persevere.”
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“As an American Jew and a New Yorker, I am floored by this tweet (although never surprised),” Wisdom responded. “NYC deserves a mayor who will stand up for Palestinians in the face of state-sanctioned violence.”
In another post, Wisdom bragged about blowing off the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur.
“I totally missed Yom Kippur this year,”she wrote in September 2009. “Oh well, I’ll repent next year??? (What kind of Jew flakes on YOM KIPPUR).”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Mamdani’s office.
Wisdom describes herself as a “liberal Zionist” who supports a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. She formerly served as the executive director of the New York Jewish Agenda, which has criticized Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
Upon being appointed by Mamdani, Wisdom said her office will “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.”
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Middle East Forum Fellow Yuval David told Fox News Digital that he has serious concerns about Wisdom’s appointment.
“:Zionism is not politics but identity, history, and survival of the Jewish people,” he said. “Efforts that ignore this reality risk failing the community they are meant to protect. She also has challenged orthodox Jewish education in favor of secular Jewish education. Alienating New York’s orthodox Jewish community is not something a person in her position should be doing.”
“The leader of the Office to Combat Antisemitism must understand a basic truth,” Rabbi Marc Schneier, founder of the Foundation For Ethical Understanding, told Fox News Digital. “Israel cannot be bifurcated from Judaism. Ms. Wisdom’s opposition to the IHRA definition of antisemitism, adopted by 50 nations worldwide and 37 of 50 states in America, calls that understanding into question.”
Meanwhile, Mamdani has been a frequent critic of Israel, particularly because of its war against Hamas in Gaza.
“Who in their right mind takes a job to supposedly fight antisemitism for a mayor who markets in antisemitism?” State Assemblyman Kalman Yeger, a Brooklyn Democrat, told the Post.
The mayor defended Wisdom in a statement, calling her a “principled and effective leader in the work to confront antisemitism in New York City and beyond.”
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“I look forward to working alongside her to both build a city where Jewish New Yorkers are safe, seen, and able to thrive and to build a team that reflects the diversity and strength of our Jewish communities across New York,” he said.
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