Mamdani Has Another Controversy: His Judiciary Panel Seems to Be Missing Something

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been stacking up a lot of controversy over his various radical statements and positions.

He assumed (wrongly) that he might have some kind of power to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He's created a mess in his attempt to impose a pied-à-terre tax. Then there are the grocery games, where he's going to use taxpayer money to set up government grocery stores and then subsidize them with more taxpayer money to sell staples at 30 percent under retail.

Priceless: Immigrant-Led Business Group Delivers Brutal Message to Mamdani Over His Grocery Games

Now there's a new controversy, and it too is raising a lot of eyebrows.

When Mamdani announced his 18-member committee to advise him on judicial nominations, many people noticed it seemed to be missing something.

Though Jews make up an estimated 10 percent of the New York City population and represent such a significant share of New York City lawyers that the Jewish lawyer has become a cultural stereotype, the mayor’s 18-person committee seemed to have no Jews on it.

According to some estimates, from 35 to 50 percent of lawyers in New York City are Jewish.

So the fact that there were none on the advisory committee led a lot of people to ask why.

“Your recent announcement of appointees to the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary has left us deeply disappointed,” read a joint letter from the leaders of the Queens Brandeis Association, Jewish Lawyers Guild, the Brooklyn Brandeis Society and the Bronx County Jewish Bar Association.
“Not a single Jewish attorney, former judge or legal professional was appointed to a committee your administration described as one that would be ‘truly reflective of New York City,’” the letter continued.

Nine members are selected by the mayor; nine others are recommended by judges and deans of the city’s law schools, subject to appointment by the mayor.

The letter from Ms. Forspan said that one representative who had been recommended, John Leventhal, a retired justice of the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court, had been rejected by the mayor’s office. “We find your unprecedented rejection of the highly respected retired Appellate Division Justice John Leventhal particularly disconcerting given the lack of any Jewish representation on the committee,” it said.

A Mamdani spokesperson claimed he was rejected because he had represented Ghislaine Maxwell. Leventhal explained his firm had represented her on an issue on appeal, but that's what defense attorneys do. He said he hoped not having any Jewish members was "not intentional."

That wasn't all the letter pointed out.

The decision, the leaders said, “follows a troubling pattern that has left many Jewish New Yorkers feeling increasingly marginalized” — after Hizzoner rejected using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism and his omitted Jewish neighborhoods on a map of immigrant enclaves in the city.

This also comes along with the rise of the radical leftist antipathy toward Israel, Mamdani's own comments about that and Netanyahu, as well as a rise in antisemitic attacks in the city.

Mamdani made a video calling Netanyahu a "war criminal" and saying "we can examine every tool we have to defend the humanity and dignity of all people." Two days later, there was a stabbing of two men, including a Jewish man wearing a yarmulke. The suspect allegedly yelled, "Allahu akbar."

Others were calling out what they thought was going on. Mamdani even got called out by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

When I was a lawyer at Gibson Dunn in D.C., we took our summer associates to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. A survivor spoke to us and said something that stuck with me:

Lawyers need to know the holocaust did not begin with camps. It began when Jews were removed from… pic.twitter.com/e85OhFqiFb
— Eli Albrecht (@Elialbrecht) July 29, 2026

NYC is home to the largest Jewish population in the U.S.

Jewish attorneys have long made up a significant share of New York's legal profession. The complete absence of Jewish representation on the Mayor's Advisory Committee on the Judiciary is neither representative nor…
— ADL New York / New Jersey (@ADL_NYNJ) July 28, 2026

There are thousands of exceptionally qualified Jewish attorneys and former judges in New York City.

Apparently, Mayor Mamdani couldn't find one. https://t.co/H8mQLav2z2
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) July 28, 2026

Editor’s Note: New York City is now facing the consequences of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s socialist takeover.

Help us continue to report on his radical policies and expose the Democrats who support him. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.