A coalition of Jewish bar associations says the panel breaks with past practice — the mayor says he never asked anyone's religion.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration described the newly appointed Mayor's Advisory Committee on the Judiciary as a “truly representative cross-section” of New York City's legal profession — one that would “reflect” the city's population. Of the 18 members named on July 22, not a single Jewish lawyer, former judge, or legal professional was included.
The committee screens and recommends candidates for judgeships on the city's Family Court, Criminal Court, and interim Civil Court benches — the same courts that, among other matters, hear hate-crime cases. Attorney Ali Najmi, a close Mamdani ally who has publicly referred to the mayor as his “brother,” chairs the panel. Roughly half the seats are filled by the mayor; the other half are nominated by the chief judge and other judicial entities.
Jews make up approximately 10 percent of New York City's population and have long made up a substantial share of the city's legal profession — figures circulated by critics of the appointments have run as high as 45 percent, though no official bar association data confirms an exact number. Under previous mayors, Jewish attorneys and former judges routinely served on the committee. Under Mamdani, the number is zero.
In a July 27 letter obtained by NBC New York, the presidents of four Jewish bar associations — Elizabeth Forspan of the Brandeis Association of Queens, Benjamin Kaufman of the Jewish Lawyers Guild (New York County), Jeffrey Miller of the Brooklyn Brandeis Society, and Matthew Kluger of the Bronx County Jewish Bar Association — told the mayor they were “deeply disappointed” by the absence of any Jewish representation.
“Excluding Jewish representation from this committee is neither reflective nor inclusive,” the letter stated. “It follows a troubling pattern that has left many Jewish New Yorkers feeling increasingly marginalized.”
The groups specifically highlighted the rejection of one highly credentialed Jewish candidate: retired Appellate Division Justice John Leventhal. Leventhal had been nominated by Chief Judge Rowan Wilson. The Mamdani administration declined to move forward with him after learning he had previously served on Ghislaine Maxwell's legal team. City Hall has insisted the decision was not based on religion.
Mamdani rejected any suggestion that religion influenced the panel's composition. “I did not ask the religion of each person who was put forward,” he told reporters July 29, per amNewYork. “The suggestion that there would be any decision-making motivated by religion, it does bother me. This is a city that is beautiful because of the breadth of diversity of those who call it home, and that includes the Jewish community across the five boroughs.” He added that he has appointed and reappointed Jewish judges to the bench during his first six months in office and expects that to continue.
Press Secretary Joe Calvello added that claims of religious motivation are “false,” noting that the mayor has appointed Jewish judges to the bench itself.
The gap remains, and the mayor's office has not said whether it plans to add members to the committee. An official body tasked with helping select the city's judges was publicly framed as reflective of New York. In a city with one of the largest and most prominent Jewish legal communities in the country, that body currently has none.
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