More than 700 rabbis from across the United States have signed an open letter calling for an apology from Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The rabbis are demanding the mayor retract his recent remarks in which he described the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as "monsters" who utilize "millions in dark money" to maintain their influence.
The letter, organized by the pro-Zionism group The Jewish Majority, states that employing the term "monsters" against political opponents constitutes dehumanization, which carries particularly dangerous implications when directed at groups overwhelmingly associated with the Jewish community.
"When Mayor Mamdani speaks, he is not speaking only for himself. He serves as a model for a growing political movement whose rhetoric and priorities are increasingly being emulated nationwide," the rabbis wrote. They emphasized that labeling "Zionists" as a suspect category is perceived by most Jews not as criticism of a foreign government, but as an attack on a fundamental aspect of Jewish identity and peoplehood.
The signatories, including prominent figures such as Rabbi David Ingber of the Romemu congregation, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch of the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, Rabbi Neil Zuckerman of the Park Avenue Synagogue, and Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, cited an increase in antisemitic incidents as evidence of the growing danger faced by the Jewish community. They pointed to events such as the killing of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington last year and alleged plots against an AIPAC office and its supported politicians.
"By casting pro-Israel civic participation as monstrous, conspiratorial and anti-democratic, Mr. Mamdani has put a target on the backs of American Jews and their allies," the rabbis stated, urging the mayor to apologize, retract his remarks, and affirm that Jews and pro-Israel Americans are full participants in democracy. They clarified that while criticizing Israeli policy is not antisemitic, treating millions of Zionist Jews as morally suspect or politically illegitimate is.
Jonathan Schulman, executive director of The Jewish Majority, told The Post that "the campaign is over, the votes are counted, and now the mayor needs to lower the temperature before someone gets hurt."
Mamdani made the controversial remarks during a campaign rally, stating, "Now is the time of monsters." He elaborated, "These monsters take many forms today. In those who fund … bad-faith attacks … those who would rather spend far more on political contributions than they would ever be made to pay in taxes." He specifically mentioned AIPAC, suggesting that for the organization, "the only thing more frightening than democracy being allowed to run its course is an end to genocide and [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s wars."
In an effort to clarify his statement, Mamdani later stated he was quoting Italian Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci. He explained that he used the term "monsters" to refer to all those preventing the birth of a new world, not solely AIPAC, but also large super PACs engaged in misleading advertising.
Mamdani, 34, has publicly supported the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement against Israel. He has repeatedly characterized Israel's military actions in Gaza as a "genocidal war" and previously vowed to arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu for alleged war crimes if he visited New York City.