Two swastikas were discovered Wednesday morning on a yeshiva in Brooklyn, just hours after Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City. Mamdani swiftly condemned the act, calling it “a disgusting and heartbreaking act of antisemitism, and it has no place in our beautiful city,” He added, “As Mayor, I will always stand steadfast with our Jewish neighbors to root the scourge of antisemitism out of our city.”
According to the New York Post, security staff at the Magen David Yeshiva in Gravesend discovered the symbols painted in red on the building’s columns and a window around 6:30 a.m. local time. The suspect, dressed in black, fled on foot and has not yet been apprehended.
Mamdani presents his transition team. Photo: AFP
At the same time, New York City Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker announced his resignation, becoming the first senior city official to step down following Mamdani’s election. In a letter to outgoing Mayor Eric Adams, Tucker wrote that it had been “a once-in-a-lifetime honor” to serve as fire commissioner, and that he would leave his post on December 19. “Until then, I will continue to lead the world’s greatest fire department and ensure a smooth transition,” he wrote.
According to Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the matter, Tucker’s decision was influenced by his strong Zionist convictions and his belief that he could not continue serving under Mamdani. The report noted that before joining City Hall, Tucker founded and ran T&M Protection Resources, a security and intelligence firm operating in the US and Israel, and is expected to return to that role after his departure. His resignation breaks a long-standing city tradition in which commissioners remain in office until a new mayor’s term begins.
Tucker, the first senior city official to resign. Photo: AP
In addition, Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, announced new initiatives to address Mamdani’s rise to the leadership of a city that is home to the largest Jewish community in the world. The organization will launch a dedicated hotline for reporting antisemitic incidents, establish a monitoring program to track policies and appointments in City Hall, and publish regular public reports on the actions of the Mamdani administration.
“The mayor-elect has promoted antisemitic narratives, aligned himself with people who have histories of antisemitism, and displayed open hostility toward the Jewish state that runs counter to the views of the overwhelming majority of New York’s Jews,” Greenblatt said. “We are deeply concerned that those individuals and principles will influence his administration at a time when we are tracking a brazen surge of harassment, vandalism, and violence targeting Jewish residents and institutions in recent years.”
He added, “This is just a start. But make no mistake: ADL’s core purpose is to protect the Jewish people, and we will be relentless and unyielding in our work to ensure the safety and security of all Jewish New Yorkers.”
According to recent polls, 60% of Jewish voters cast their ballots for Andrew Cuomo, while 30% supported Mamdani and 8% backed Curtis Sliwa. In the ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods of Midwood and Borough Park, Cuomo won by a landslide with about 76% of the vote. Mamdani, however, received 71% support in Crown Heights and 61% in Williamsburg. He also performed well among liberal Jewish communities in Manhattan and parts of Queens, particularly among young and secular families. Roughly 960,000 Jews live in New York City, with the largest populations in Brooklyn (462,000) and Manhattan (277,000).
In his victory speech, Mamdani sought to counter criticism that his anti-Israel positions amounted to antisemitism, declaring that he would “build a City Hall that stands steadfast alongside Jewish New Yorkers and does not waver in the fight against the scourge of antisemitism.” He then addressed his Muslim supporters, speaking in Arabic, and added, “No more will New York be a city where you can traffic in Islamophobia and win an election.” The city’s one million Muslims, he said, “know they belong, not only in the five boroughs but also in the corridors of power.”
