Updated November 7, 2025 at 2:48 PM PST
The leader of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an organization that fights antisemitism, is explaining his group's decision to set up a special project to monitor Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City.
Mamdani is the first Muslim and person of South Asian descent elected to lead the nation's largest city, which includes a Jewish population of well over 1 million people. He is also a critic of Israel and its war in Gaza. After his victory, the ADL took an unprecedented step: announcing an "initiative to track and monitor Mamdani administration policies and appointments."
The project includes tracking actions by Mamdani's administration "that impact Jewish community safety and security." The ADL's announcement also said it was setting up a citywide tip line for people to report antisemitic incidents in New York.
Jonathan Greenblatt, the ADL's CEO and national director, discussed the move on NPR's Morning Edition. Greenblatt was at the center of controversy in 2016, when the ADL questioned the rhetoric of President Trump's first presidential campaign, and more recently during the Israel-Hamas war, when it accused pro-Palestinian protesters of using antisemitic messaging.
After the ADL announced its scrutiny of Mamdani, the mayor-elect told reporters, "I take the issue of antisemitism incredibly seriously."
Mamdani continued: "I think anyone is free to catalog the actions of our administration. I have some doubts about Jonathan's ability to do so honestly, given that he previously said I had not visited any synagogues, only to have to correct himself."
You can hear the interview by clicking the blue button above and read highlights below:
Greenblatt acknowledges about a third of Jewish New Yorkers voted for Mamdani
Greenblatt contends that he wants to represent Jews who did not. "We want to make sure that our community fully understands what's happening so that we can hold him accountable to the campaign promise he made to be the mayor for all New Yorkers, including Jewish New Yorkers."
He said many Jews were concerned by Mamdani's statements about Israel. Among other things, Mamdani has said that he would order New York police to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a future visit to New York. Netanyahu has been accused of war crimes over the war in Gaza by the International Criminal Court. Asked if he accepted the existence of Israel as a Jewish state, Mamdani said he supported Israel as "a state with equal rights."
Greenblatt said that Americans could criticize Israeli policies without being antisemitic, but that Mamdani's words have raised concerns. He said the mayor-elect applies a "double standard" to Israel because Mamdani has not raised human rights concerns about other countries in the same way.
The project to monitor Mamdani includes a tip line
In addition to monitoring "personnel policies and programs," the ADL plans "a tip line for Jewish New Yorkers if they experience antisemitism." It is not, Greenblatt said, an invitation for conspiracy theories about Mamdani, but a call for "real life incidents" of discrimination "so we can track them effectively and make sure law enforcement's following up as appropriate." The ADL alleges that Mamdani's views may create a "permission structure" for antisemitic attacks at a time when they are on the rise.
Greenblatt says the project is not about Mamdani's identity
The ADL leader said it was "repugnant" that some Republican lawmakers, such as Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee, have called for a federal investigation of Mamdani to see if he can be deported. Mamdani was born in Uganda and is a naturalized U.S. citizen.
"Attacks on him based on his ethnicity or his faith are repellent," Greenblatt said.
An ADL project to monitor a single official is unusual
Asked if the ADL has previously done so, Greenblatt responded, "We've certainly never had an elected official like this before." He pointed to ADL criticism of the Trump administration that has taken other forms, including objecting to the nomination of Paul Ingrassia — a lawyer with ties to antisemitic extremists — to lead the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. Ingrassia withdrew his nomination in October.
Asked if the ADL itself is applying a double standard with its special scrutiny of Mamdani, Greenblatt said, "This isn't inherently pejorative. It's simply saying in a moment of crisis like we've never had before, we're going to be paying very close attention."
The radio version of this story was edited by Reena Advani and produced by Taylor Haney.
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