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Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism
Mayor Mamdani Announces New Executive Director of Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism
February 4, 2026
About us
The Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism (MOCA) is tasked with identifying and developing efforts to combat antisemitism and anti-Jewish hate crimes, support victims of antisemitism, and celebrate Jewish culture and traditions using the resources of the City of New York.
MOCA liaises with an Interagency Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, composed of representatives of the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, New York City Police Department, New York City Commission on Human Rights, and other City agencies to fulfill its mission and deliver for the City’s more than one million Jewish New Yorkers.
Additionally, MOCA coordinates non-law enforcement responses to incidents of antisemitism on behalf of the Office of the Mayor, and serves as a liaison with the Jewish community to address issues related to services for victims of hate crimes and bias incidents motivated by antisemitism, and security for vulnerable populations and institutions.
The Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism is led by Phylisa Wisdom.
Recent Events and Services
In August, Mayor Mamdani had a meeting with a group of 10 New York City rabbis from several denominations, including Reconstructionist, Reform, Conservative, and Modern Orthodox, as well as unaffiliated groups. The meeting, which the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism organized, focused on strategies to strengthen Jewish safety and belonging, maintain candid lines of communication, and collaborate on issues facing Jewish New Yorkers.
In June, Mayor Mamdani met with Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah, a pair of Israeli and Palestinian peace activists, while they were in town on their global book tour. The discussion, organizing by the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, focused on combating antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate, and on the importance of advancing peace, dignity, safety and human rights for all. The mayor thanked Maoz and Aziz for their essential work bringing people together across divides, including through their engagement with faith leaders, nonprofits, and communities in New York City.
In May, MOCA Executive Director Phylisa Wisdom joined New York City Public Schools for their Jewish American Heritage Month celebration. She is pictured here with Chancellor Kamar Samuels and Councilmember Lynn Schulman, Co-Chair of the City Council’s Jewish Caucus.
In May, Mayor Mamdani welcomed Jewish communities from across the five boroughs to Gracie Mansion to celebrate Shavuot. Rabbi Irwin Kula, president of the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, delivered an invocation, and Ruth Messinger was honored with a citation in honor of her decades of work with Jewish communities, New York City government, and most recently, on immigrant justice.
Following a string heinous antisemitic incidents targeting several locations in Forest Hills, Queens, Executive Director Phylisa Wisdom showed up at an event organized by JCRC-NY to stand with the community.
We visited one of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s renowned Mobile Museums of Tolerance, where we learned more about their initiatives and fielded feedback on strategies to counter antisemitism.
We attended a press conference with Mayor Mamdani, Police Commissioner Tisch, and JCRC CEO Mark Treyger ahead of the 2026 Israel Day on 5th parade.
We attended an event featuring Holocaust Music Lost & Found—an organization that puts on performances of music composed by those who perished the Holocaust, and by Holocaust survivors—at the Bronx High School of Science.
Following the performance, we toured the school’s pioneering, on-campus Holocaust Museum & Studies Center.
On numerous occasions, we have visited 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights, the World Headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. During these visits, we have learned about the history of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement and have discussed security concerns with community leaders.
We visited the Cuddles Center in Williamsburg, which included a program tour, an opportunity to engage with children and staff, and a conversation about the program’s impact on children and families.
On Yom HaShoah, we coordinated a tour of the Kupferberg Holocaust Center with Mayor Mamdani, where he learned from a Holocaust survivor, scholars, researchers, and CUNY leaders. Afterwards, the Mayor said, “New York City is home to more Holocaust survivors than anywhere else in this country, and their resilience is woven into the fabric of our city.”
We coordinated Mayor Mamdani’s attendance at the annual gala for T’Ruah, a human rights-oriented rabbinic group.
During the event, the Mayor delivered remarks, saying, “we live in a time of immense division and mistrust, where too many are subjected to immense cruelty. Where violence is made to feel normal. Where suffering has become commonplace. For too many in New York City and across the country, liberation feels out of reach. Fear lurks around the corner. Never has the work that tonight’s honorees and this organization does ever been more important.”
The Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism has held listening sessions with hundreds of Jewish New Yorkers, with the intention of understanding how different Jewish communities understand and experience antisemitism, and to share their ideas for how New York City can remain a place where Jewish communities can thrive. MOCA will meet and present in synagogues, community groups, and other shared Jewish spaces over the years of the administration.
We recently accompanied Mayor Mamdani on a tour of the Jewish Children’s Museum in Crown Heights. The tour was led by Devorah Halberstam, a longtime leader in the fight against antisemitism and hate.
We joined Mayor Mamdani at Jews For Racial and Economic Justice’s annual Seder in the Streets, in addition to Michael Dorf’s Annual Downtown Seder.
The Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism also planned and led a Seder for City Hall workers at Gracie Mansion.
Before Passover, we joined Mayor Mamdani as he participated in a Kosher for Passover food distribution event alongside Chasdei Lev in Flatbush,
We organized a community roundtable with leaders from across the five boroughs, where Mayor Mamdani heard their concerns on a range of issues, from safety to child care.
Contact us
Need more info? Visit our contact page to send an inquiry.