Mamdani Posts About Nakba Day to 6.2 Million Followers but has Stayed Silent on Social Media in Condemning the Protest Outside a Brooklyn Synagogue. The NYT is Sued and a Terrorist Plot Thwarted.

This week’s newsletter is dedicated to Noam Bettan, the 28-year-old Israeli singer who came in second at the Eurovision pop competition last night. Bettan performed his song Michelle under an unbelievable amount of pressure, security issues, and boycotts by multiple countries. In a competition whose mission statement is founded on the aftermath of WW2 with a focus on “strengthening ties between nations, and fostering the exchange of knowledge and expertise,” Bettan led with positivity, light and love.

“There was booing at the beginning, but a second passed and immediately I felt a huge wave of love and support. It carried me, you know, on stage.”

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Above the Scroll

• BROOKLYN SYNAGOGUE TARGETED BY MASKED PROTESTORS

  • One week after the Park East Synagogue protest, another anti-Israel protest occurred on Monday, May 11 outside of Young Israel of Midwood, a synagogue in Brooklyn. PAL-AWDA, the same group behind the Park East protest, organized this demonstration in response to an Israeli real estate event held at the synagogue. Members of Within our Lifetime (WOL) and the Palestinian Youth Movement were also present.

  • 400 NYPD officers were deployed to manage the protest.

    

    Photo Source: JTA via Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images

    • PAL-AWDA alleges the real estate event markets stolen land in the West Bank. Their Instagram account claims:

      • Zionist agitators and agencies collaborate with the NYPD and elected officials, the event violates the Fair Housing Act and federal anti-discrimination laws, that the NYPD protects Zionist illegal land theft in NYC neighborhoods, along with a myriad of other complaints and allegations.

  • Protestors flew Hezbollah flags, chanted “Globalize the intifada,” “Brick by brick, wall by wall, Israel will fall,” and shouted “baby killers” at residents that showed up to counter-protest. An Israeli flag was burned at the protest.

    • Video footage shows the protest becoming violent, clashing with police, pulling a young woman by her hair, and flashing a strobe light into the face of a visibly Jewish boy.

      • The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice is investigating the incident for possible federal charges.

• MAMDANI’S RESPONSE AND SOCIAL MEDIA NARRATIVE

  • The mayor has consistently said he wants to be the mayor for all New Yorkers. Yet on the subject of these ongoing protests, some Jewish leaders are saying the mayor is not condemning the protests forcefully or quickly enough.

    • With regard to the Brooklyn protest on May 11, Mamdani did not issue a statement to the media until Tuesday afternoon. The statement he made is essentially the same as prior statements, citing New Yorkers have the right to protest and condemning violence, hatred, antisemitism and anti-Muslim rhetoric.

    • Mark Treyger from the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York has said a stronger response is warranted:

      “The mayor needs to be very clear, strong and consistent in saying, ‘We are not going to resolve these international disputes at the doors of houses of worship. Jewish families in Midwood should not have to bear the brunt of hate and harassment for a dispute that’s thousands of miles away.”

    • The Editorial Board of AM NY issued an op-ed citing the protesters exploited free speech and willfully chose to “intimidate and instill fear.” The Board also made these remarks to Mamdani:

      “What will the mayor do now to prevent the next ugly scene at the next synagogue? We will tell you what he should do.

      Mamdani should convince the City Council to override his veto of Intro. 175, and admit he was mistaken.

      He should direct the NYPD to work quickly to fulfill the mandates of Intro. 1-B and Intro. 175. He should publicly condemn by name those groups and organizers who choose to use violence and hateful rhetoric at protests, and demand that they protest in peace, not in rage.”

  • Why is this relevant?

    • Between TikTok, Instagram, X, and Facebook, Mamdani has 6.2 million followers, more than a third of the entire Jewish global population. His social media reach is tremendous, as evidenced by the views and likes on his posts across all four platforms.

    • The mayor did not issue a statement following Monday’s protest on any of his social media platforms. A statement was given only to the media on Tuesday afternoon. He has failed to condemn the flying of designated terrorist group flags and chants to globalize the intifada.

    • He did however post a one-sided narrative with a City-Hall produced and tax-payer funded video about Nakba Day.

    • His post fails to mention many historical facts, including but not limited to:

      • A two-state solution was refused by Palestinians which would have averted the war.

      • 800,000 Jews were expelled from Arab Lands after the UN partition was rejected and war was launched by Arab states against Israel on May 15, 1948.

      • The video also claims the nakba (Arabic for “catastrophe”) continues to this day and supports the right of return, something Palestinians have demanded for all descendants of refugees.

        This 2019 article published in the Georgetown School of International Affairs discusses the history of Palestinian and Jewish refugees in this time period. Specifically, the problem with perpetual refugee status and provides context for what continues to hamper peace to this day.

        • The post has drawn significant backlash as it paints a distorted historical reality, and was covered by multiple media outlets. The New York Times reported that Mamdani did not mark Israel Independence Day and has said he will not attend the Israel Day Parade scheduled later this month.

• TERRORIST PLOT AGAINST NYC SYNAGOGUE THWARTED

  • Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, an Iraqi national who is allegedly tied to Kata'ib Hezbollah, an IRGC backed terrorist group, was arrested on multiple federal charges and appeared in a Lower Manhattan court on Friday. The charges include “conspiracy to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations, conspiracy to bomb a place of public use, and attempted destruction of property by means of fire or explosives.”

    • The complaint says Al-Saadi tried to pay an informant $10,000.00 to set fires and carry out the attacks on multiple synagogues, including an unnamed but well known synagogue in NYC. The informant was an undercover FBI agent.

    • The complaint also alleges Al-Saadi is behind 18 terror attacks in Europe and two in Canada since March 9.

    • Investigators says Al-Saadi had a relationship with Qasem Soleimani, the former IRGC commander killed by the United States in 2020.

    • He deliberately targeted a prominent NYC synagogue because of it’s support for Israel, as well as several other Jewish institutions in Los Angeles and Arizona.

      “In my 18 years in government, I have not seen a threat environment quite like this one.” - Jessica Tisch, NYPD Commissioner

    • Al-Saadi was arrested in Turkey and claims he is a political prisoner and should be treated as a prisoner of war.

• THE NEW YORK TIMES IS UNDER FIRE

  • On the heels of a two-year groundbreaking independent commission finding systemic sexual abuse and gender-based violence related to the October 7 terrorist attack, the New York Times first decided to publish an opinion piece by Nicholas Kristof - The Silence the Meets the Rape of Palestinians.

    • The story alleges sexual violence against Palestinians by Israeli soldiers, prison guards, and settlers, including unsubstantiated claims of training dogs to perform rape.

      • He cites Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, an anti-Israel antisemitic NGO that is linked to using Hamas propaganda and conducting a digital information war on Wikipedia. Other sources have been associated or embedded with Hamas.

    • The backlash was swift and severe, noting multiple problems with Kristof’s piece, sources linked to Hamas, lack of investigative reporting, and the timing of publication. Israel and critics of the story allege that the New York Times was sitting on the October 7 independent commission and instead chose to publish this piece first, thereby overshadowing a two year investigation.

      • The Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children was made public this week, concluding after two years of independent research, forensics, witness testimony, trauma and legal experts, that:

        “sexual and gender-based violence was systematic, widespread, and integral to the October 7 attacks and their aftermath. Across multiple locations and phases of the assault, including during abduction, transfer, and captivity, Hamas and its collaborators deployed recurring tactics of sexual abuse and torture against victims. These crimes were marked by extreme cruelty and profound human suffering, often inflicted in ways designed to amplify terror and humiliation.”

        • The entire report and analysis can be found on the CC07 site.

      • Israel has said it will sue the New York Times for defamation.

      • The New York Times is defending Kristof’s story.

  • Why is this relevant?

    • The Kristof piece has significant problems, not only because of the sources and the fact that it is an opinion piece and not investigative journalism that has to pass the same level of editorial and legal hurdles prior to publication, but also the allegation of systemic anti-Israel bias that has seeped into mainstream media. There are multiple articles, podcasts and stories that have been published subsequent to the Kristof opinion piece, a few of which are cited below.

      • Former Associated Press journalist did a long-form interview with on his podcast, Call Me Back. This interview is well worth the time to listen to in its entirety, as Friedman brings decades of journalism experience in breaking down the systemic issues with anti-Israel NGOs that have shaped and continue to shape how Western media covers the ongoing conflict.

      • The Wall Street Journal published an opinion piece responding to Kristof’s article - Kristof’s Unbelievable Tale: The columnist publishes a poorly sourced, fantastical tale of torture and dog rape in Israel.

      • wrote in The Free Press - The Paper Trail of Nicholas Kristof’s Smear:

        But here are the claims brought by Kristof. Dogs taught to rape prisoners; the use of rape as a standard procedure or centrally directed method of war; people raped multiple times a day or at the start of every shift—expanding the necessary circle of conspiracists to include multiple shifts, countless commanders, prison medical staff, auditors, and officials, all without leaks or whistleblowers—as well as claims that didn’t match past versions of the same claims. And again and again relying on NGOs or individuals who are explicit and unabashed propagandists for Hamas.

        Why, if there is no doubt that abuse occurred—and yes, there were real cases of abuse—was there so much obvious propaganda in Kristof’s op-ed?

    • wrote The Last Public Editor, about the New York Times eliminating the last public editor role in 2017 and the ensuing implications that has had on editorial decisions made by the Times.

    • The End Jew Hatred movement demonstrated in front of the New York Times on Thursday, May 14. They protested what they believe to be is defamation and “blood libel” published by the paper.

Below the Scroll

MORE NEW YORK CITY NEWS

• $26 MILLION ALLOCATED TO COMBAT HATE

  • Although Mamdani has not issued a public statement on any of his social media accounts following the Brooklyn protest on Monday, at a Tuesday press conference he announced $26 million in additional funding would be provided to combat hate crimes.

    • It’s unclear how those funds will be specifically used, but Jewish Insider reports a program that funds existing Jewish organizations as well as left-wing nonprofits.

    • The mayor also said Phylisa Wisdom who he appointed to run the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism will be on a “listening tour” to develop a “municipal approach to fighting antisemitism.”

      • Wisdom has faced significant scrutiny since replacing Moshe Davis in this role. At the City Council Taskforce to Combat Antisemitism in April, Wisdom made it clear that this mayor’s office would not define hate (Mamdani rejected the IHRA definition of antisemitism) and she herself could not define antisemitism and instead said it would be evaluated on a “case-by-case” basis.

        

      Photo Source: Jerusalem Post via New York City Council

      • As of the day of this newsletter, the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism has no designated website other than the city site, no email or phone number, and only a link to a form to contact the office. The last press release on the website is over three months ago, issued on February 4, 2026.

• THE FREE PRESS PUBLISHES AN EXPOSE ON RAMA DUWAJI

  • Above the Scroll has covered Rama Duwaji extensively, from her posts liking the October 7 massacre, to apologizing for past posts (except the October 7 ones), and last week her allegedly refusing to engage or speak with Miss Israel once she found out where she was from.

    

Photo Source: Getty Images. New York Fashion Week 2026.

• The mayor continues to claim his wife is a “private citizen,” despite her doing interviews with art and culture publication Hyperallergic, attending a myriad of high profile events, and growing her social media following to 2.1 million followers.

  • , a journalist at The Free Press, has been covering Mamdani and Duwaji. She just published a story on the question of whether the mayor’s wife is a private citizen or not - Rama Duwaji Wants the Spotlight, Just Not the Scrutiny. The entirety of the story can be found here, but some highlights to take away are:

    • The debate as to whether the wife of a mayor living in Gracie Mansion is truly a private individual, or whether, as Reingold writes, that is “just a shield she and the mayor hide behind to evade tough questions on her inflammatory politics?”

    • Reingold interviews Melissa DeRosa, a Democratic strategist who ran Cuomo’s campaign, who points out Duwai’s appearance at fashion shows and on magazine covers are not the actions of a private citizen:

      “She picks and chooses when she wants to be a public person, and that’s not how it works,” said DeRosa. “It’s laughable.”

    • Reingold also uncovers what appear to be Duwaji’s Spotify playlists, that have now been been made private. Musical choices added to the playlist after October 7 were anti-Israel songs, some of which calls Jews greedy in their lyrics.

    • An Instagram post from one of Duwaji’s friends show her draped in a keffiyah at an anti-Israel rally in Times Square after October 7.

      

• 15 YEAR SENTENCE FOR EXTRADITED CRIMINAL WHO TRIED TO POISON JEWISH CHILDREN IN NYC

  • Michail Chkhikvishvili, 22, a Georgian Neo-Nazi national, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for his plot to commit violent attacks, including poisoning children, against the Jewish community.

    • Known as the “Commander Butcher,” Chkhikvishvili was the leader of Maniac Murder Cult, an extremist group promoting racially driven violence. The cult is based out of Russia and Ukraine but communicates online with members around the globe.

    • Chkhikvishvili was extradited from Moldova in 2024 and pled guilty in November 2025 to distributing information about bombs and soliciting hate crimes. In a letter written to the judge, he wrote that he was ashamed of his actions, acknowledged the harm he brought and apologized for “spreading hatred and violence.”

      “The defendant is not sentenced because of his warped views. He is being sentenced for his calls to action.” - U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon

• NYU FLAG ADORNED WITH SWASTIKAS AND A STAR OF DAVID FLOWN AT GRADUATION

  • At a graduation event this week, a purple flag resembling the NYU flag was seen flying at the top of the Steinhardt building on campus near Washington Square Park. This flag had swastikas and a Star of David on it. The Steinhardt School is named after a Jewish philanthropist who has contributed millions to NYU and other cultural institutions in the city.

  • The flag was removed shortly after it was spotted by campus security, NYPD was notified and an investigation is ongoing.

    “We are shocked and deeply troubled that this hateful symbol expressing antisemitism was raised on a flagpole overlooking Washington Square Park.” - NYU spokesperson Wiley Norvell

    

Photo Source: Washington Square News, Yezen Saadah

ANTISEMITISM IN AMERICA

• DOJ WILL SEEK THE DEATH PENALTY FOR THE MURDER OF ISRAELI EMBASSY STAFFERS IN DC

  • The Department of Justice announced on Friday, May 15 that it will seek the death penalty against Elias Rodriguez, the man charged with murdering Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim last year at the Capital Jewish Museum. Video footage shows him shooting Lischinsky and Milgrim, then firing again while standing over the two victims. Both worked for the Israeli embassy and were engaged to be married next year. Milgrim, a U.S. Citizen, was 26, and Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, was 30 at the time of their deaths.

    

    Photo Source: Embassy of Israel to USA, via CNN

    • Rodriguez is facing federal charges of murder, hate crime, and hate crime resulting in death, among other special findings. He has pleaded not guilty to 13 charges.

    • Video documentation shows Rodriguez yelling “Free Palestine” at the time of the shooting and the indictment indicates he told police "I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza.”

      "My message to anyone who seeks to commit political violence in this district -- D.C. is not the place. You will be held accountable and you will face the full wrath of the law.” — Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia

• NY STATE ASSEMBLYMAN’S FATHER CELEBRATES JEWISH DEATHS

  • Jewish Insider reported this week that the father of Alex Bores, the New York State assemblyman running for the Democratic 12th Congressional District, has made antisemitic statements on his social media Threads account.

    • Alex Bores is running to replace the seat that will be vacated by Jerry Nadler who is retiring this year.

    • William Bores, Alex’s father, has been actively involved in his son’s campaign and was president of a local broadcast union - Communication Workers of America - who has endorsed his son.

    • The elder Bores has posted on his Threads account: “Zionists are Nazis!,” “Zionism=Nazism” and “Zionists and Nazis, one and the same.”

      

Photo Source: Vanity Fair via John Nacion/Getty Images.

ANTISEMITISM AROUND THE GLOBE

• Belgium - the LGBT pride parade this Sunday initially barred Belgian LGBT Jews, who participate under a group called Mazal Pride, from using Star of David or Israeli flag symbols in the parade. In a statement, Mazal Pride pushed back, saying they had been negotiating with organizers who were requesting conditions on Jews participating in the parade:

  “The message we ultimately receive is that our presence is acceptable only if it is not too visible. That we are welcome as long as we know how to hide… we refuse to accept erasing our identity as the solution. We refuse the idea that Jewish people should have to hide who they are in order to participate in a public, activist, and celebratory space.”

  • After pushback, the bar on Jewish symbols was reversed. A resolution was reached with the organizers who cited security concerns had been balanced with Jewish LGTBQ+ visibility.

    

Photo Source: ILTV Instagram

• Australia - a woman yells antisemitic slurs at a youth netball game in Sydney. Police were called after a 42-year-old woman yelled "F*** the Jews", and saying Jews "should have been eradicated" at a game with a Jewish-led team. The netball game was for girls under the age of 12.

  • The woman has been charged with using offensive language in or near a public place or school, and has a court appearance in June.

  • The opposing team’s netball club issued a statement saying “The Saints Netball Club unequivocally condemns and disavows antisemitism in all its forms.”

    • This statement allegedly was not issued immediately and other parents associated with the Saints Club defended the woman, with one video showing a man stating: “There's a reason why this happens to you people every weekend', and 'You're always playing the victim.”

  • Why is this relevant?

    • An incident at a local children’s sporting event on the other side of the world is not necessarily newsworthy. What is newsworthy and why it is in the newsletter this week is because it exemplifies how normalized this kind of behavior has become. In a country that is still reeling since the Bondi Beach massacre six months ago, the fact that an adult would openly make antisemitic statements towards little girls and other parents would defend said statements instead of immediately condemning them, shows the extent of the problem that has invaded Australian and global society.

Good Jewish News

Phew! If you’re reading this, you deserve a medal after such a heavy week of news. Keeping it light and easy this week in Good Jewish News.

Whether you celebrate Shavuot next week or not, a dairy-forward holiday is a perfect opportunity to treat yourself to the May special at Breads Bakery — cheesecake babka for the win!

IN POSITIVE JEWISH NEWS…

• MOM-FLUENCE AND JEWISH HUMOR ABOUND IN INFLUENCED

  • Jill Kargman, the Jewish actress, writer, and author known for her show Odd Mom Out, debuted her new film, Influenced, in theaters this week. The movie follows Kargman as Dzanielle, an Upper East Side influencer juggling life, her social media career, and her twins upcoming b’nei mitzvah. The movie has appearances by celebrities (and Kargman’s friends) Gwyneth Paltrow and Drew Barrymore, is funny, light, and full of good Jewish feels. In a time when the world feels so heavy, Influenced will make you smile and laugh — just what the doctor ordered for our Jewish hearts and souls.

    

Photo Source: Menemsha Films

• ADEENA SUSSMAN’S ZARIZ IS THE EASY BREEZY TEL-AVIVY COOKBOOK WE ALL NEED RIGHT NOW

  • best-selling author of Sababa and Shabbat, has a new cookbook out — Zariz. It’s a colorful, flavor-filled gem of a book that was born out of her post-October 7 time in the kitchen, or as Sussman calls it “simple cooking for complicated times.” Zariz, which means quick or speedy in Hebrew, has 100 Israeli-inspired recipes (think blueberry halva smoothie, steak fattoush salad and Bamba fluffernutter treats) that are quick, easy and never call for more than a “bat mitzvah’s worth” (12) of ingredients.

  • Sussman, who is currently on book tour, talked to food writer and podcaster this week on his podcast, This is Taste. It’s a deep dive conversation into life in the Middle East as an Israeli-American, pastrami (Katz’s or Pastrami Queen), and all things Zariz.

Photo Source: Adeena Sussman Instagram