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New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said Thursday that NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch personally apologized to his team after her brother described him as an “enemy” of the Jewish people during a high-profile charity dinner in Manhattan on Wednesday night.
Speaking at his Cocoa Chat community meeting, Mamdani stressed that the apology was received and that he intends to govern for all New Yorkers.
“The commissioner apologized to my team for those remarks, and I look forward to being a mayor for each and every New Yorker, including Jewish New Yorkers,” Mamdani said.
He emphasized that the incident will not interfere with his working relationship with Tisch, whom he has chosen to keep on as police commissioner despite policy disagreements.
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Mayor-elect Mamdani responded to remarks made by Benjamin Tisch, brother of NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, during a Community Cocoa event on Thursday. (Getty Images)
“My focus in my conversations with Commissioner Tisch is on delivering public safety and doing so in tandem with justice for New Yorkers across the five boroughs,” he said. “The apology was one that she conveyed to the team. I appreciated it, and my focus is back on delivering.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, NYPD spokesperson Brad Weekes shared the commissioner’s message:
“I understand the fear in the Jewish community. My sincere belief is that the mayor-elect will live up to the commitment he’s made to be a mayor for all New Yorkers, including the Jewish community.”
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NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch will continue to lead the department. (Jeenah Moon/Reuters)
The apology came after Tisch’s brother, Benjamin Tisch, the billionaire CEO of Loews Corporation, used his remarks at the Met Council’s annual gala to label Mamdani an “enemy” of the Jewish people, according to two attendees who spoke with the New York Daily News.
Witnesses from the gala – which was hosted at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Manhattan – described the moment as jarring, particularly because Commissioner Tisch recently agreed to remain at the helm of the NYPD under Mamdani’s incoming administration.
One attendee told the Daily News the room reacted in stunned silence: “It was just like, ‘wow, he’s actually going to go there.’” Benjamin Tisch has not yet commented publicly on the incident.
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani speaks to members of the media at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the Queens borough of New York on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Mamdani, a democratic socialist and a vocal critic of Israel, has repeatedly rejected allegations that his views on Israel are antisemitic.
Members of the wider Tisch family donated more than $1 million to super PACs opposing Mamdani during the 2025 mayoral race and backing former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, according to the NY Daily News. Commissioner Tisch did not donate.
Last month, Mamdani told the NY Daily News: “The two of us will not shy away from the fact that we hold disagreements on certain issues… but I also believe that these disagreements are not only reconcilable, but they are the sign of a healthy partnership to come.”
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The flare-up comes just weeks before Mamdani’s Jan. 1 inauguration.
Mayor-elect Mamdani and a representative for Benjamin Tisch did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
