Moshe Spern, president of United Jewish Teachers, urged New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Wednesday to increase police patrols and security at Jewish institutions during Tisha B’Av, saying a recent video by Mayor Zohran Mamdani has heightened concerns within the city’s Jewish community.
In the video, Mamdani called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal,” said he had explored all legal avenues but lacked the authority to arrest him, and concluded by urging viewers to “examine every tool we have to defend the humanity and dignity of all people.”
Spern told JNS the mayor’s remarks contribute “to a dangerous atmosphere for New York’s Jewish community.”
“Just in the past week we’ve seen attacks on two synagogues in Queens, on top of rising antisemitic incidents, vandalism, protests targeting Jewish sites and harassment since he took office,” he said.
With Tisha B’Av beginning Wednesday evening and continuing through Thursday, Spern said thousands of Jews would be gathering at synagogues, schools and camps, making the need for visible security especially urgent. Tisha B’Av, the annual Jewish day of mourning, commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem and other tragedies in Jewish history.
“Tisha B’Av historically has been a day of tragedy for the Jewish people,” Spern told JNS. “I’m nervous that the community will face threats specifically on this day.
“I urgently call on NYPD Commissioner Tisch to implement heightened patrols and visible security at all Jewish facilities immediately,” he said. “The Jewish community simply wants to feel safe practicing our faith without fear from those being incited by the mayor’s rhetoric.”
In a letter to Tisch, Spern wrote that Mamdani’s video, “disseminated through official channels, has heightened fears within the Jewish community.”
He asked the NYPD to provide “extra rounds by uniformed officers and coordination with NYPD Special Ops” at synagogues, Jewish schools, summer camps and community centers, and requested that the department treat the appeal as “a time-sensitive matter.”
