Jewish legal groups protest absence of Jews from Mamdani advisory panel

Four Jewish legal organizations have criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's newly formed 18-member judicial advisory committee for allegedly excluding Jewish legal professionals. In a letter to Mamdani, the groups stated, "Not a single Jewish attorney, former judge, or legal professional was appointed." They also protested the rejection of retired Appellate Division Justice John Leventhal. A spokesperson for Mamdani denied that the appointments were religiously motivated, claiming Leventhal was passed over due to his past involvement with Ghislaine Maxwell's legal team. This controversy follows an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal titled "Mamdani's Antisemitic Smoke Signals," which Mamdani's communications director called "incredibly Islamophobic." Separately, Jewish City Council Speaker Julie Menin allocated $750,000 to the Brooklyn DA's hate crimes bureau, as anti-Jewish incidents constitute over half of NYC hate crimes this year.