New York (QNN)- , a Zionist whA number of pro-Palestine groups have slammed Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani for his decision to reappoint Jessica Tisch as NYPD commissionero cracked down on Palestinian protesters and supported Israel’s Gaza genocide.
“We strongly oppose this decision,” the pro-Palestinian advocacy group, Within Our Lifetime, said in a statement published online.
“Retaining Tisch represents a political alignment with the NYPD’s legacy of racialized policing, surveillance, and repression, and a retreat from the values of justice and liberation that Mamdani’s campaign claimed to champion,” the statement added.
The statement has been endorsed by dozens of pro-Palestinian groups, including the National Students for Justice in Palestine at John Jay College, The College of Staten Island, Brooklyn College, and The New School.
Local groups representing communities where Mamdani enjoyed strong support in November’s mayoral election are also signatories to the statement, including Crown Heights Bites Back, Brooklyn Jail Support and Bay Ridge Solidarity.
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“Tisch was one of Eric Adams’s closest appointees,” the organisations said. “Her reappointment under Mamdani ensures the seamless continuation of Adams’s NYPD, defined by corruption, scandal, federal investigations, and violent crackdowns on protests,” the statement said.
The groups cited Tisch’s support of Israel as a factor in their criticism. “Tisch’s record is inseparable from the NYPD’s direct collaboration with the Israeli occupation,” the letter read.
Jessica was appointed police commissioner by mayor Eric Adams in November 2024. Before her arrival, the New York City Police Department pursued a crackdown on protestors at campuses like Columbia University, where students demonstrated in solidarity with Palestinians following the start of Israel's genocide in Gaza.
Jessica is the daughter of Meryl and James Tisch. The latter is CEO of the Loews Corporation, an American conglomerate whose holdings include CNA Financial and Loews Hotels.
The influential Jewish-American family has been active in the NYC Police Foundation, which created and funds the NYPD’s liaison programme with foreign police forces, including Israel.
"These connections place Tisch at the intersection of the billionaire class, the NYPD’s global footprint, and Zionism," the statement added.
The statement pointed out Mamdani's former campaign promises made about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
During his campaign, Mamdani said he would arrest Netanyahu if he set foot in NYC.
“As a candidate who pledged to arrest Netanyahu during the campaign, Mamdani must answer how he can reconcile that promise while retaining a member of Netanyahu’s host family,” the statement added.
Jessica was the former head of the city’s sanitation department. As police commissioner, Jessica oversaw training that labelled keffiyehs and watermelons as antisemitic symbols. Both are expressions of Palestinian culture and have been used to non-violently protest against Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory.
In October, Jessica spoke at the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) annual conference, where she defended Israel’s assault on Gaza.
The ADL has long been denounced by pro-Palestinian groups for describing Palestinian rights movements as antisemitic. The organisation has also, in the past, worked with US law enforcement to spy on and target Arab-American groups and has also facilitated and funded US police training trips to Israel.
Last month, she apologized that the police allowed “a turmoil” to take place, referring to a pro-Palestine protest. Her remarks Tisch’s appearance at Park East came less than a week after she accepted the offer from Mamdani to stay on as police commissioner,
Mamdani has long advocated for Palestine, with the issue shaping his political identity. The mayor-elect supports the BDS movement and opposes US military aid to Israel and has said he rejects Israel’s identity as a Jewish state. He’s also pledged to arrest ICC-wanted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he land in New York.
