Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s $30 million strategy to combat antisemitism in New York City would increase funding for several nonprofit organizations with no direct ties to the Jewish community, including a group that has faced criticism over its anti-Israel activism.
The mayor’s Strategy to Combat Antisemitism, released last week, includes a $6.4 million allocation for Partners Against the Hate (P.A.T.H.). The funding doubles last year’s support for the taxpayer-backed community grant program.
Created in 2021 by the city’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, P.A.T.H. works with six core grassroots organizations, including the Jewish Community Relations Council, along with groups representing other religious and ethnic communities.
Among the leading advocacy organizations participating in P.A.T.H. is the Arab American Association of New York, a Brooklyn-based group that has been criticized for its opposition to Israel. The program aims to reduce hate crimes through community initiatives and grants.
The organization was led for more than a decade by Linda Sarsour, a pro-Palestinian activist who has mentored Mamdani. The group repeatedly voiced support for the anti-Israel encampment at Columbia University and other demonstrations held after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, according to critics.
The Arab American Association of New York received $3.3 million in city funding from 2017 through 2024, the Washington Examiner first reported, citing data analyzed by transparency watchdog OpenTheBooks.
Other P.A.T.H. partners include the 67th Precinct Clergy Council, also known as “the Godsquad,” the LGBT NYC Anti-Violence Project, the Asian American Federation and the Hispanic Federation.
Since taking office, Mamdani has faced mounting pressure to respond to rising antisemitic hate crimes across New York City’s five boroughs.
NYPD data recorded an 8% increase in antisemitic incidents through August, with anti-Jewish hate crimes making up a disproportionately large share of the reported cases.
Before becoming mayor, Mamdani campaigned alongside Sarsour, an early supporter of the then-little-known Queens assemblyman, on a pledge to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The mayor, however, has no authority to detain foreign dignitaries.
Mamdani’s long-awaited 33-page antisemitism strategy also drew criticism from some Jewish community leaders. They objected to the plan’s failure to mention Zionism and its limited reference to Israel.
More than two dozen Jewish leaders condemned the report and urged the Mamdani administration to issue a revised strategy that directly addresses Zionism.
