Mamdani’s ‘truly representative’ judiciary panel opts for ZERO Jewish members

BS BRIEF:

Four Jewish bar associations, joined by the Anti-Defamation League, are demanding that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani revise his newly announced Advisory Committee on the Judiciary after finding no Jewish members among its 18 appointees.
City Hall rejects allegations that religion played any role in the appointments, saying Mamdani has appointed Jewish judges elsewhere and that one recommended Jewish nominee was not selected because he had represented Ghislaine Maxwell on appeal—not because he is Jewish.
The committee helps screen candidates for Criminal Court, Family Court and interim Civil Court judges in the nation’s largest city. The controversy comes amid heightened concern over antisemitic attacks and already strained relations between Mamdani and many Jewish organizations.

MAMDANI’S ‘REPRESENTATIVE’ JUDICIAL PANEL FACES BACKLASH AFTER JEWISH GROUPS FIND NO JEWISH MEMBERS

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani promised a judicial advisory committee that would reflect the city’s diversity.

Instead, he now finds himself defending why four major Jewish legal organizations say they couldn’t find a single Jewish member on it.

The controversy centers on Mamdani’s newly appointed 18-member Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary, the influential panel that evaluates applicants and recommends candidates for judicial appointments across New York City’s Criminal Court, Family Court and interim Civil Court.

When announcing the committee last week, City Hall praised the appointees as:

“A truly representative cross-section of the legal profession in New York City.”

Mayor’s chief counsel Ramzi Kassem also said the panel would help build “a broad and highly qualified pool of judicial applicants” and reflected the administration’s commitment to a “fair, inclusive and transparent judicial selection process.”

That language quickly collided with criticism from the Brandeis Association, the Jewish Lawyers Guild, the Brooklyn Brandeis Society and the Queens Brandeis Association.

In a joint letter sent Monday, the organizations said they were “deeply disappointed” that the committee contains no Jewish attorneys, former judges or legal professionals.

The groups wrote:

“At a time when antisemitism is rising and Jewish communities are increasingly under threat, excluding Jewish voices from this influential body is not only disheartening, it is dangerous.” They urged Mamdani to:

“Correct this exclusion.”

The Anti-Defamation League backed the effort.

The mayor’s office disputes any suggestion that religion influenced the appointments. Press secretary Joe Calvello told NBC New York:

“Any suggestion that the decision around MACJ was motivated by religion is false.”

Rather than disputing that the committee lacks Jewish members, City Hall emphasized that Mamdani has appointed Jewish judges elsewhere during his administration.

Calvello also explained why retired Appellate Division Justice John Leventhal—who is Jewish and had served on the committee previously—was not reappointed.

According to the administration, Leventhal was rejected because he had served on Ghislaine Maxwell’s legal team during her federal appeal.

“When informed that Mr. Leventhal served on Ghislaine Maxwell’s legal team, the Mamdani administration chose not to move forward with his appointment.”

That explanation has not satisfied the organizations criticizing the mayor. This is not a ceremonial advisory board.

The Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary reviews applicants and recommends judges who will preside over cases involving criminal prosecutions, child custody, family disputes and countless other matters affecting New Yorkers.

Those courts also hear hate-crime prosecutions.

Attorney Elizabeth Forspan, president of the Brandeis Association of Queens, told NBC New York that the committee helps shape the next generation of judges at a time when antisemitism has become an increasingly serious concern. She said:

“We hope that if it was an oversight, the mayor will reverse course and admit that he made a mistake and correct it.”

Mamdani’s relationship with many Jewish organizations remains under intense scrutiny.

His past rhetoric regarding Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu and the war in Gaza has already generated sharp criticism from Jewish leaders, while supporters argue his criticism is directed at Israeli government policy rather than Jewish people.

Meanwhile, New York has experienced several recent attacks involving Jewish victims, heightening concerns throughout the city’s Jewish community. Those incidents have intensified calls for government officials to demonstrate that Jewish New Yorkers are represented in key institutions.

City Hall has not announced any plans to modify the committee.

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