Email from Zionist Organization of America   ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA IN THE MEDIA     ZOA Klein/Berney JNS Op-Ed: ZOA Condemns Mamdani’s Dangerous Choice of Phylisa Wisdom to Lead Office to Combat Jew-Hatred A person worth their salt for a position to fight antisemitism should demand that New York City pursue the virulent groups that attack Jews, not celebrate legal action against a group that defends them. New York City as seen from the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building, Feb. 2, 2026. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office. (February 11, 2026 / JNS) Phylisa Wisdom, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s pick for running the mayor’s office to combat antisemitism, is a dangerous choice for a position that the city so desperately needs right now. This is due to a number of factors. Among them are her vocal opposition to the widely accepted International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism; her promotion of the weak Nexus definition of antisemitism that enables blood libels against the Jewish people and allows for extreme anti-Israel stances; her opposition to enforcing immigration laws; and her apparent support for actions by New York Attorney General Letitia James against Betar, a Jewish organization that works to fight antisemitism. An extreme left-winger, Wisdom wrote in 2024: “I am calling upon every university to NOT adopt the IHRA definition but instead make like the Biden administration & adopt an approach that uses some of IHRA and @NexusProjectUS’s definitions.” She supports the flawed Nexus definition that excuses major manifestations of Jew-hatred and renders her unable to combat the scourge of antisemitism that is wreaking havoc on the city’s Jewish community. As the Zionist Organization of America wrote to former President Joe Biden when urging him to adopt only the IHRA definition, and again when ZOA strongly objected to Biden’s National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism that “welcomed” the Nexus definition, which masks hatred for the Jewish state and Zionism. ZOA wrote that the “Nexus Document [is] dangerous, wrongly shielding antisemites who try to mask their hatred of Jews by expressing it as hatred for the Jewish state. For example, it states that opposition to Zionism—i.e., the right of the Jewish people to self-determination and to live as a nation-state in their religious and ancestral homeland—is not necessarily antisemitic. The Nexus Document fails to appreciate that for many, if not most Jews, their connection to their religious and ancestral homeland is an essential part of their Jewish identity. The Nexus Document also states that ‘disproportionate focus on Israel and treating Israel differently than other countries cannot necessarily be considered antisemitic.’ But if Israel—the one and only Jewish state in the world—is singled out for criticism and punishment, then there can be no doubt that antisemitism is at play.” The IHRA examples make it clear that antisemitism can be masked as singling out the State of Israel for attacks. A proponent of the Nexus definition has no place heading New York’s office to monitor and combat antisemitism. Mamdani’s choice is not surprising. On the first day of his term, he revoked the executive order put into place by his predecessor, Mayor Eric Adams, in adopting the IHRA definition. Mamdani’s own blood libels against the Jewish state, coupled with his promotion of anti-Israel boycotts, divestment and sanctions, and his opposition to Israel’s existence as a Jewish state, qualify these moves alone as antisemitic under the IHRA definition. Continue Reading   Share This Email Share This Email Share This Email   DONATE   www.zoa.org   Copyright © Zionist Organization of America 2026. All rights reserved. Zionist Organization of America | 633 Third Ave 31 B | New York, NY 10017 US Unsubscribe | Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice