Mayor Mamdani on defensive over judicial appointments committee

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Mayor Mamdani is pushing back against criticism over his choices on who will advise him on judicial appointments.

There are no Jewish members on the 18-person board.

This comes as Jewish leaders are blasting the mayor for his stance on Israel and his calls to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on an International War Crimes warrant.

On Wednesday, the Prime Minister fired back against the mayor.

Mayor Mamdani was determined to stay on-message Wednesday, claiming credit for boosting the wages of the city's delivery workers by cracking down on wage theft by delivery apps.

"Today, we surpassed $104 million in tips paid to the delivery workers who keep our city fed," Mamdani said during a press conference on Wednesday.

But the mayor found himself on the defensive. Asked to explain why his 18-member City Hall advisory committee on judicial appointments does not include a single Jewish member.

"I did not ask for the religion of each of the persons that was put forward," Mamdani said.

Mamdani insisted that what matters more is that he's appointed to the bench a diverse array of judges.

"And that diversity includes Jewish New Yorkers."

But the city's Jewish bar associations sent the mayor a letter in protest.

"It follows a troubling pattern that has left many Jewish New Yorkers feeling increasingly marginalized," the statement said in part.

"Doesn't even the appearance of that bother you?" N.J. Burkett asked the mayor.

"I think the suggestion that there would be any decision-making motivated by religion, it does bother me," Mamdani said.

It comes amid ongoing concerns in the city's Jewish community-over the stabbing of a Jewish man on the Upper West Side and a rising tide of antisemitism-which the mayor has condemned.

And Mamdani's threat to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In an ABC News interview, Netanyahu accused the mayor of promoting antisemitism.

"The mayor of New York City celebrates the barbarians, and a day later - a day later - a Jew is stabbed, you know, stabbed, coming out of a synagogue. I don't think that's accidental," Netanyahu said.

But Mamdani denies that. He has condemned the Hamas massacre of October 7th, while accusing Netanyahu of committing genocide in Gaza.

"Mr. Netanyahu belongs in The Hague. He's a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court," Mamdani told the New York Times.

Mamdani has acknowledged that he does not have the authority to arrest the prime minister here in New York. While he denies he's marginalizing the Jewish community, he seems unconcerned by the perception.

Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News

Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.