New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani defended his judicial advisory committee after four Jewish bar associations demanded he appoint Jewish members to the 18-person panel, which currently has no Jewish lawyers, judges, or legal professionals.
Mamdani announced the committee’s full membership on July 22, describing it as a “truly representative cross-section” of the city’s legal profession. But on July 27, the Brandeis Association of Queens, the Jewish Lawyers Guild, the Brooklyn Brandeis Society, and the Bronx County Jewish Bar Association sent a joint letter expressing they were “deeply disappointed” by the apparent exclusion of any Jewish representation.
The committee is responsible for evaluating and recommending judges to the city’s family and criminal courts, where they serve 10-year terms, and for naming interim judges to civil courts. According to NBC New York, Jewish lawyers had served on the committee during the Eric Adams administration, including George J. Silver, who chaired the panel, as well as Ronald Richter, Judy Harris Kluger, and Rebecca Roiphe. None of those members are serving on Mamdani’s version.
When asked about the criticism on July 29, Mamdani said he did not consider religion in his selection process. “I did not ask for the religion of each of the persons that was put forward,” the mayor told reporters at a press conference. He added that what matters is the diversity of judges he has appointed to the bench, stating “that diversity includes Jewish New Yorkers.”
The mayor also addressed the case of retired Appellate Division Justice John Leventhal, who had served on the committee under Adams and was nominated again by Chief Judge Rowan Wilson but was rejected by Mamdani’s administration. According to amNY, Mamdani said he dismissed Leventhal’s candidacy because the judge had served on the legal team of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse minors. “As much as possible, we thought it best to avoid any association between the committee that would be appointing judges and the Epstein world,” Mamdani said.
The Jewish bar associations’ letter cited what they called a “troubling pattern” of exclusion, referencing Mamdani’s rejection of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism and the omission of Jewish neighborhoods from a city map highlighting immigrant enclaves. The letter also referenced a recent stabbing attack on a Jewish man on the Upper West Side, noting that “at a time when antisemitism is reaching historic levels in our city, leadership matters.”
In January, Mamdani had signed an executive order directing the advisory committee to “engage the full breadth of the legal community” in its selection process and to publish demographic data about judge applicants. However, according to NBC New York, that transparency requirement does not extend to the selection process for the committee members themselves.
The controversy reflects broader tensions between Mamdani and the city’s Jewish community. The mayor has been sharply critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling him a “war criminal” and saying he belongs in The Hague. Netanyahu responded to the criticism in an ABC News interview, accusing Mamdani of promoting antisemitism and drawing a connection between the mayor’s rhetoric and the stabbing attack on the Upper West Side.
Sources
- NBC New York — Committee composition, Jewish members under Adams, Leventhal’s representation of Maxwell, Mamdani’s press statement, and the letter from Jewish bar associations.
- ABC7 New York — Mamdani’s July 29 press conference response, Netanyahu’s statement, and context on antisemitism in the city.
- amNewYork — Mamdani’s defense of the Leventhal rejection, committee member selection process, and his statement denying religion-based decision-making.
- Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) — Coverage of the Jewish bar associations’ criticism and the broader context of the controversy.
