(RNS) — New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has appointed Phylisa Wisdom, the executive director of New York Jewish Agenda who has spent years organizing with progressive Jewish organizations in the city, to run his Office to Combat Antisemitism.
Since his early campaign days, Mamdani has weathered a challenging relationship with part of the city’s Jewish community, largely due to his criticism of Israel and defense of Palestinian rights. Wisdom’s appointment on Wednesday (Feb. 4) comes as the mayor faces renewed criticism over his recent revocation of the former administration’s plans to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s antisemitism definition, which considers many criticisms of Israel as antisemitism.
New York Jewish Agenda, which Wisdom, 39, has led for nearly three years, supports the existence of Israel as a Jewish democratic state and affirms Israelis’ and Palestinians’ rights to self-determination. It condemns Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and rejects the boycott, divest, sanctions movement against Israel. Wisdom — whose organization has criticized Israel’s military campaign in Gaza — appears to be aligned with the mayor in opposing adopting the IHRA antisemitism definition.
Founded by Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum of the progressive Beit Simchat Torah Congregation and Rabbi Rachel Timoner of the Reform Congregation Beth Elohim, NYJA aims to carve out a space for liberal Jewish perspectives in New York, countering the political weight of both right-wing Orthodox leaders and liberal groups that are hostile to Israel. In addition to combating antisemitism, it has taken on other causes, including migrants’ rights, climate change and fighting homelessness.
Part of NYJA’s responsibility is to “educate state and local leaders about the dangers of the path being pursued by current Israeli and Palestinian leadership and encourage a respectful debate within our community about the future contours of a just and negotiated solution to the conflict,” its website reads.
Amy Spitalnick, an NYJA board member and the CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, said in a statement that Wisdom was well-positioned for her new role thanks to her “deep Jewish values, a tireless commitment to justice, and strong relationships across the community.” By appointing her, Mamdani is “well-positioned to make clear that an unequivocal commitment to Palestinian human rights can and must go hand in hand with an unequivocal commitment to Jewish safety,” Spitalnick said.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani reacts during his inauguration ceremony, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
Amid a slew of executive orders revoking some of the Adams administration’s policies, Mamdani announced on his inauguration day, Jan. 1, that he would preserve the city’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, created by Adams in May 2025 following a surge in antisemitic incidents after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. The office established an interagency task force that works with the city’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, Commission on Human Rights and the New York Police Department to tackle anti-Jewish hatred. It was previously led by Rabbi Moshe Davis, whose views on combating antisemitism and supporting Israel seemed to align with Adams’.
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During the mayoral campaign, Wisdom said in an interview with The Forward that she believed Mamdani had made progress in engaging with Jewish voters after the June Democratic primary. And a few days before the Nov. 4 election — in which Mamdani received an estimated 33% of the Jewish vote — Wisdom highlighted the candidate had won over some liberal Zionists, telling The Guardian that some would never have imagined “voting for an anti-Zionist mayor” and that some of them agreed with some of Mamdani’s stances, including wanting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be prosecuted.
Rabbi Marc Schneier, founding rabbi of The Hampton Synagogue in Westhampton Beach, New York, criticized Wisdom’s appointment over the IHRA antisemitism definition.
“The leader of the Office to Combat Antisemitism must understand a basic truth. Israel cannot be bifurcated from Judaism,” he said in a statement on Wednesday. “Ms. Wisdom’s opposition to the IHRA definition of antisemitism, adopted by 50 nations worldwide and 37 of 50 states in America, calls that understanding into question.”
Before joining NYJA, Wisdom served as the director of development and government affairs for Yaffed, a nonprofit that advocates for improving curricula in New York Haredi yeshivas. She joined the educational nonprofit after a five-year stint at Literacy Trust, according to her LinkedIn.
Wisdom is a member of Congregation Beth Elohim, one of Brooklyn’s oldest Reform synagogues. In October, she participated in a discussion organized by the temple with Mamdani, then Democratic mayoral candidate. The day of the event, protesters gathered outside the temple, criticizing Beth Elohim’s decision to host Mamdani.
Timoner, the senior rabbi of Beth Elohim and a board member of NYJA, said in a statement that Wisdom understood that “fighting antisemitism requires courage, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to human dignity.”
Wisdom has also been involved with New York’s Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, according to its executive director, Audrey Sasson. At NYJA, Wisdom collaborates with JFREJ on bail reform and fighting the “nonprofit killer bill,” Sasson said.
“It’s exciting to see one of our members step into this role, and we look forward to working together to combat antisemitism and all forms of hate violence,” Sasson wrote in an emailed statement to Religion News Service.
Wisdom has also lobbied for reproductive rights through the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. She grew up in San Diego and is a graduate of California State University San Marcos and King’s College London.
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