A major Jewish civil rights organization is demanding the Justice Department investigate New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for allegedly failing to protect Jewish residents from a documented surge in antisemitic violence and harassment.

Federal Investigation Demanded Over Hate Crime Response

The National Jewish Advocacy Center filed a formal referral Tuesday with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, requesting a pattern-or-practice investigation into whether New York City and the NYPD are denying Jewish residents equal protection under the law. The complaint, signed by NJAC CEO Mark Goldfeder and staff attorneys, cites NYPD data showing Jewish New Yorkers were victims of 330 reported hate crimes in 2025, representing 57 percent of all hate crimes despite Jews comprising only 10 percent of the city’s population.

The referral comes just days after a Brooklyn coffee shop banned pro-Israel Jewish Representative Dan Goldman from entering, calling him a supporter of wrongdoing. Goldfeder’s letter to Patrick McCarthy, acting chief of the Special Litigation Section, questions why city policies have moved in the opposite direction as hate crimes have escalated to more than six incidents per week targeting Jewish residents.

Policy Reversals Under Scrutiny

The complaint specifically targets Mayor Mamdani’s policy decisions since taking office in January. Upon assuming the mayoralty, Mamdani rescinded executive orders implemented by predecessor Eric Adams that were designed to combat antisemitism. He revoked the city’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism and eliminated orders barring discrimination against Israeli entities. His administration confirmed through the head of its antisemitism office that it would use no codified definition of antisemitism or any other form of hate.

Mamdani also vetoed legislation that would have established buffer zones around schools to maintain minimum distances between protesters and students, claiming the measure violated free speech protections. Additionally, the mayor directed the NYPD to develop plans to disband its Strategic Response Group, the unit responsible for protest response and counterterrorism operations throughout the city.

Enforcement Concerns Raised

The advocacy center highlighted troubling testimony from an April 2026 City Council hearing where the NYPD’s deputy commissioner for legal matters stated that the phrase written on a kosher restaurant might not qualify as a hate crime and would require proof the motivation was not purely political. In contrast, the same phrase targeting Jewish people explicitly would clearly constitute a hate crime. The complaint argues this distinction allows perpetrators an escape route and represents a government refusal to recognize the most common contemporary form of hatred against Jewish people.

What This Means

The federal referral represents an escalation in concerns about how America’s largest city handles antisemitic incidents. If the Justice Department opens an investigation, it could examine whether systemic failures in city policy and law enforcement contribute to an environment where Jewish residents face disproportionate targeting. The outcome could have significant implications for how municipalities across the nation define and prosecute hate crimes against religious minorities.