Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove has come out against the inciteful rhetoric of State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, who may become New York City’s next mayor.
By Rachel Avraham
A new storm has erupted in New York’s Jewish community after Park Avenue Synagogue’s senior rabbi publicly warned that State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani’s rhetoric and political activism pose a growing danger to local Jewish security. In a city still healing from a surge in antisemitic threats and violence following the Gaza war, his words resonate as more than a political critique — they are a warning from the pulpit about the power of radical language to turn into real-world intimidation.
Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove’s statement followed weeks of controversy surrounding Mamdani’s appearance at rallies and his outspoken condemnation of Israel. At one such event in Manhattan, the assemblyman accused Israel of committing “genocide in Gaza” and called for cutting all U.S. military aid to the Jewish state. His comments, widely circulated on social media and echoed by allied activist groups, have amplified tensions between pro-Israel residents and progressive lawmakers who now use legislative platforms to frame Israel as an aggressor rather than a democratic ally.
For many in the Jewish community, this rhetoric has crossed a dangerous line. Park Avenue Synagogue — one of the most influential Reform congregations in America — sits at the heart of Manhattan’s Jewish life, hosting thousands of families and leaders who view antisemitism not as an abstract debate but as an immediate security concern. Rabbi Cosgrove said during Shabbat services that “language has consequences” and that Mamdani’s persistent accusations against Israel risk “translating into hostility against Jews in our own streets.” His warning was clear: when elected officials normalize incendiary terms like “genocide,” “apartheid,” and “settler colonialism,” they create an atmosphere that legitimizes hate.
The debate over Mamdani’s rhetoric highlights a broader tension inside American progressive politics. The assemblyman, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, represents a district with one of the country’s most diverse constituencies. His supporters describe him as a courageous voice for Palestinian rights. His critics, however, argue that he routinely crosses from criticism of Israeli policy into delegitimization of Israel’s right to exist. That distinction — between dissent and demonization — lies at the center of the current uproar.
In the aftermath of October 7 massacre, New York experienced one of its sharpest increases in antisemitic incidents in decades. The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force recorded dozens of assaults, vandalism, and threats targeting Jewish schools and institutions. Jewish security organizations like the Community Security Initiative (CSI) have urged community centers to tighten protection, citing evidence that online agitation often precedes real-world incidents. Against this backdrop, Rabbi Cosgrove’s remarks struck a nerve: he suggested that “those who hold office have a responsibility to temper speech, not ignite fires.”
Political analysts say the controversy illustrates a wider national pattern. Figures like Mamdani and other progressive legislators — such as Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar — have framed the Gaza conflict as a civil-rights struggle, while mainstream Jewish groups see that framing as dangerously erasing Hamas’s terrorism and Israel’s right to self-defense. In New York, where Jewish voters remain a key constituency, the clash between progressive rhetoric and community safety has become a defining issue for Democratic politics ahead of 2026.
The Park Avenue rabbi’s statement drew immediate attention from Jewish defense organizations. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released a brief supporting his concerns, noting that “words that dehumanize Israel inevitably endanger Jews worldwide.” The Jewish Community Relations Council of New York added that elected officials “must understand the ripple effect of their words in a city already grappling with antisemitism.” Some civic leaders called on Mamdani to meet with Jewish representatives to discuss how to condemn violence without amplifying hostility.
For Israel, watching from afar, this episode is part of a troubling trend: the migration of anti-Israel activism from campus slogans to legislative podiums. Mamdani’s speeches have been featured by regional activist groups that routinely call for “intifada until liberation” and promote boycotts of Israeli products. What once was the rhetoric of fringe student circles has entered the vocabulary of public officials in America’s largest city. The concern among Jewish leaders is not only what is said, but how such narratives could embolden extremists to act locally under the guise of political expression.
Rabbi Cosgrove’s decision to confront the issue publicly reflects a shift among American Jewish leaders toward more assertive advocacy. For years, synagogues avoided politics from the bimah. But the post-October 7 environment, marked by spikes in threats, protests, and boycotts, has pushed many rabbis to speak out. Park Avenue Synagogue’s stance may now set a precedent for other congregations to challenge elected officials when rhetoric crosses into perceived incitement.
The larger question is whether political polarization in America will allow space for nuance. Critics of Mamdani are quick to emphasize that criticism of any government, including Israel’s, is legitimate in a democracy. Yet they insist that denying Israel’s right to self-defense, invoking Holocaust analogies, or labelling Jews as “colonizers” moves beyond protest into moral inversion. For many New Yorkers, this inversion is not just offensive — it is dangerous.
As tensions rise, Jewish institutions in New York continue to invest heavily in security and community outreach. The CSI and UJA-Federation have coordinated safety briefings and expanded cooperation with law enforcement. These measures underscore a painful irony: even as the Jewish community champions open dialogue, it must reinforce its walls against the very hatred that free speech sometimes unleashes.
Ultimately, the Park Avenue Rabbi’s warning is less about one assemblyman and more about a civic threshold: the point where free expression begins to threaten communal safety. His message to both politicians and citizens is simple but profound — “words create worlds.” In today’s New York, those words can build understanding, or they can summon fear. The choice belongs to those who speak with power and those who listen in silence.
Photo from Dmitryshein: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zohran_Mamdani#/media/File:Zohran_Mamdani_05.25.25_(b)_(cropped).jpg
