SHOTLIST:

NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 30, 2025) (ANADOLU - ACCESS ALL)

1. ORTHODOX RABBIS HOLDING BANNERS DURING PRESS CONFERENCE OUTSIDE NEW YORK CITY HALL

2. RABBI YISROEL DOVID WEISS SAYING: (English)

"Message from Orthodox Jewish rabbis in New York on the recent attacks against mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. With sadness, we have witnessed recent harassment and vilification directed against candidates for New York City mayor, Mr. Zohran Mamdani, accusing him of anti-Semitism for his stance in opposition to the oppression of the Palestinian people. These attacks, unfortunately, are not the first of their kind. In recent years, we have seen politicians, both in the United States and in Europe, who have taken the courageous moral stance, being viciously attacked in this manner. This is an evil tactic used to silence anyone who dares to stand up for justice and peace. Especially now, after two years of genocide in Gaza, as the people of Gaza have just endured a brutal genocide and unimaginable destruction of homes and infrastructure, and the uprooting of families, many of whom have been completely wiped out, with countless others still trapped beneath the rubble.”

3. RABBI DOVID FELDMAN SPEAKING IN INTERVIEW, SAYING: (English)

"We are standing here on the steps of New York City Hall, and we are here while we are, unfortunately, seeing this terrible intimidation against candidates for mayor here in the city, Mr. Mamdani. This is disturbing to so many Jewish people. This harassment and these intimidations are about his brave stance in speaking up for what he believes is right, and he is speaking up against the crimes being committed against the Palestinian people. Now they are condemning him as anti-Semitic because he is against the State of Israel. This is misleading. This is unjust, and this is dangerous. We need politicians to be on the right side of history and to speak up for the oppressed. We, as New Yorkers, we, as citizens of the United States, should admire the brave politicians, and we should give them the freedom to express what they believe is right. We encourage people—voters—to vote for what is in the interest of our city, not in the interest of a foreign country, the State of Israel, and certainly not in the interest of crimes being committed on the other side of the world.

We, as Jewish people, say that conflating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism, and conflating Judaism with Zionism, is not only doing injustice to the Palestinian people; this is dangerous for the Jewish people as well. Because what this is doing is generalizing all Jews, saying that, God forbid, all Jews are in support of all these crimes, which ends up making a statement that all Jews are accountable for what is taking place.
This is anti-Semitism, and this generalization is racism. This is not done by some people out there; this is done by this movement of Zionism, which claims to represent all Jews. In no way do the State of Israel and its actions represent Jewry, and they certainly don’t represent the Jewish religion. All that Israel stands for is in total violation not only of international law but also of Judaism. This has to be stopped. We urge right minded people to be brave and to and to raise the voice."

4. VARIOUS OF ORTHODOX RABBIS HOLDING BANNERS DURING PRESS CONFERENCE OUTSIDE NEW YORK CITY HALL

5. RABBI DOVID FELDMAN SAYING: (English)

“We are here as Orthodox Jews of New York to declare that these accusations are baseless, misleading, and unjust. Masses of Jewish people worldwide, in the Holy Land and in the United States, share Mr. Mamdani's sentiment. Especially we, as Jews, are embarrassed when crimes in Palestine are being committed in our name.

Principled politicians should be admired for their courage. So, we admire Mr. Mamdani for his strong stance, and we clearly and unequivocally state that anti-Zionism is in no way anti-Semitism, because we need to realize that Judaism and Zionism, to begin with, are not the same. Judaism is a religion, while Zionism is a purely political movement that should never be conflated. The crimes committed in Palestine are not only criminal according to international law; these are crimes in Judaism. The existence of the State of Israel happens to be, in total contrast, to the very basics of Jewish belief. Therefore, masses of Jewish people worldwide are against this State of Israel and its actions, so in no way can opposition to Israel be considered anti-Semitic. If we are witnessing crimes taking place, those crimes should be condemned. Those crimes should be stopped regardless of who the perpetrators are.

This is unfair to the Palestinian people. When the righteous voice of right-minded people around the world is attempted to silenced, this is not right for New Yorkers, because New Yorkers deserve to have unbiased representation. And finally, this is dangerous for Jewish people, because when you conflate Judaism with Zionism, you are making a statement as if all Jews, God forbid, support all these crimes—which ends up making a statement that, God forbid, all Jews are accountable for what is happening. This is racism. This is dangerous. This is anti-Semitism.”
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 30, 2025: A group of Orthodox rabbis gathered on the steps of City Hall in New York City on Thursday, Oct. 30, to hold a press conference addressing recent allegations of antisemitism directed at New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.

The rabbis held banners reading “Anti-Zionism is not antisemitism,” “Judaism rejects Zionism and the State of Israel,” and “Labeling people as antisemitic cannot justify occupation and brutality.”

Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss, spokesman for Neturei Karta, said the event was “a message from Orthodox Jewish rabbis in New York on the recent attacks against mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.”

“With sadness, we have witnessed recent harassment and vilification directed against Mr. Mamdani, accusing him of antisemitism for his stance in opposition to the oppression of the Palestinian people,” Weiss said.

“These attacks, unfortunately, are not the first of their kind. We have seen politicians in both the United States and Europe who have taken courageous moral stances being viciously attacked in this way. This is an evil tactic used to silence anyone who dares to stand up for justice and peace. Especially now, after two years of genocide in Gaza, where people have endured unimaginable destruction, the loss of homes, and the uprooting of families, people of conscience should be able to join the outcry of humanity and condemn these horrific crimes,” he said.

Speaking to Anadolu, Rabbi Dovid Feldman of Neturei Karta International said the group had gathered “in response to the growing intimidation” of Mr. Mamdani.

“This harassment and intimidation are about his brave stance in speaking up for what he believes is right, speaking out against crimes being committed against the Palestinian people,” Feldman said. “Now he is being condemned as antisemitic because he is against the State of Israel. This is misleading, unjust, and dangerous.
We need politicians to be on the right side of history and to speak up for the oppressed. As New Yorkers and as citizens of the United States, we should admire politicians who have the courage to express what they believe is right. Voters should act in the interest of our city, not in the interest of a foreign country, the State of Israel.”

Feldman added that conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism “does injustice to the Palestinian people and endangers Jews as well.”

“It generalizes all Jews as being supportive of these crimes, implying that all Jews are accountable for them,” he said. “That is antisemitism, and that generalization is racism. The State of Israel and its actions do not represent world Jewry and certainly do not represent the Jewish religion. What Israel stands for violates not only international law but also the teachings of Judaism.”

At the press conference, Feldman further stated: “We are here as Orthodox Jews of New York to declare that these accusations are baseless, misleading, and unjust. Masses of Jewish people worldwide, in the Holy Land and in the United States, share Mr. Mamdani’s sentiment. We are embarrassed when crimes in Palestine are committed in our name."

"Principled politicians should be admired for their courage, and we admire Mr. Mamdani for his strong stance. Anti-Zionism is in no way antisemitism. Judaism is a religion; Zionism is a political movement. They should never be conflated. The crimes committed in Palestine are violations not only of international law but also of Judaism. Opposition to Israel and its actions cannot be considered antisemitic. Silencing the voices of conscience is unfair to Palestinians, unjust to New Yorkers, and dangerous for Jewish people, because when Judaism is conflated with Zionism, it implies, God forbid, that all Jews support or are accountable for these crimes. This is racism. This is dangerous. This is antisemitism,” he added.