Republican Curtis Sliwa believes New York City can tamp down rising antisemitism with a curriculum that brings “Jews of all types” to visit third- and fourth-grade classes in public schools.

“They’re all Jews, but they’re completely different in many instances, just like you. Don’t think they’re monolithic,” the New York City mayoral candidate said students should be taught.

Related: Catch up on Curtis Sliwa’s record on Jews, antisemitism and Israel

Sliwa made the suggestion in an interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, conducted in person in August, in which he showcased some of the out-of-the-box ideas that his supporters say make him the best choice for mayor of New York City. A full Q&A, edited for length and clarity and covering Sliwa’s ideas for combatting hate crimes, personal and professional relationships with Jewish New Yorkers and favorite Jewish restaurant, is below.

JTA’s Andrew Cuomo Q&A | JTA’s Zohran Mamdani Q&A

Most Jews and most New Yorkers have tended to vote for Democrats. What is it about you that should get Jewish New Yorkers to vote for a Republican mayor?

The first thing is I have a legacy with the Jewish community here. During the Crown Heights riots [in 1991], the mayor at that time, David Dinkins, told the police to stand down. The only people that the Lubavitch could depend on were me and the Guardian Angels on the corner of Kingston and President.

We’re at a point now where we haven’t had a riot involving antisemitism, but it spreads throughout the city. And it’s clear that if you’re going to address it, you have to do something about it, not just have a slogan. It’s not going to resolve itself. If you look at the traditional Democrats … they have failed. And now it’s left to me. I happen to be the Republican.

You know where Curtis Sliwa’s been over the years, you know the positions that I’ve taken to protect the Jewish community.

Jews continue to be the most common target of hate crimes in New York City. You said in a recent interview that there’s “no mashiach” running for mayor who will protect Jewish communities, and that they should continue leaning into groups like Shomrim and Shmira. Is it enough to have security from those groups?

No, not enough. But I’ve worked with them for years, and they’re dedicated volunteers, as is Hatzalah, the ambulance service. And there’s this perception, because they’re predominantly Orthodox, they’re only going to help their own. No! I’ve been out on the front lines with them with the Guardian Angels. They help Jews, Gentiles, anybody in distress. I’ve seen them risk their lives and get involved in some very hairy situations, and they work in tandem with the police. So it’s a great, vital volunteer organization — but more needs to be done.

So what concrete steps would you take as mayor to address the rise in hate crimes against Jews?

There should certainly be mandatory courses in antisemitism in schools — the history, how it’s evolved, how evil it is — Islamophobia, all of the hate. I have no problem with that. It’s not like there’s one hate, and one hate alone. But clearly the hate that is rearing its ugly head in the city now, more than any other, is antisemitic hate.

I would be very neighborhood-centric. Your police commanders of the precincts, your deputy inspectors have got to have a finger on the pulse of what’s going on. [Sliwa has promised to add 7,000 NYPD officers.] Each precinct is different — Williamsburg is different than Borough Park, Borough Park is different than Crown Heights. And then you have a lot of Orthodox communities that are different. You have to be sensitive to what all the differences are. The growing Bukharian community in Queens, much different. I think that’s the role a mayor plays, but you let the police do their job. You basically back off.

You’ve said you would like to keep Jessica Tisch on as police commissioner, if she’ll stay on. You’ve also criticized her for not trying to impose a mask ban that you want to see as a safeguard against violent protesters. Why is she the right person for the job? 

Now we have stability. So even though I have differences with Jessica Tisch, you never discuss them in public. If for some reason you can’t get along or you can’t agree that this is the direction we should go, then you go your separate ways! But you don’t do it in public.

You mentioned adding third- and fourth-grade classes to educate kids about antisemitism and other forms of hate. What might those classes actually look like?

You bring in Jews of all different types. You think all Jews are the same? No. This is a Hasid, this is Orthodox, this is Conservative, this is Reform, this is secular. They’re all Jews, but they’re completely different in many instances, just like you. Don’t think they’re monolithic.

Then you have to also discuss the term “Chosen People.” It’s misunderstood if you don’t fully explain it. The way I explain it to Gentile audiences is, “Look, are you Christians? Christ was lost in the desert 40 days, 40 nights. The Jews were lost 40 years, wandering around. Moses brought down like 200 commandments from Hashem, their God, God the father. We truncated it down to 10. We’re all the same! We’re all of the same people. Jesus died a Jew!”

You have two Jewish children yourself. Can you tell me a little bit about your relationship with them, and what you’ve learned about Judaism through that part of your family?

I know there’s some beliefs that Jews should not be with Gentiles, it should only be Jews with Jews. But it happens, and it happens a lot. And Melinda [Katz, Sliwa’s ex-partner] said, ‘You know, I want to raise them Jewish.’ I said, “I don’t have a problem.”

The only problem I had was when it came time for the bar mitzvahs of both boys. She was in a Conservative synagogue, and the synagogue would not let me stand up at the bimah while my sons read their lessons. I thought, ‘Oh, no, excuse me. I would like to be able to stand up there.’ So, in order to honor my wish, she went to a Reform synagogue. And I already knew the separate lines internally within the various divisions of the Jewish faith. So she accommodated me, and I appreciated that — I liked being with my boys on an important day in their life, and I had no problem with them being raised Jews. You know, they pick up on Christianity just because it’s the majority, but they’re proud Jews.

Who are the Jewish people in your circle, whether they’re officially part of your campaign or people you consult?

Without a doubt, the man that I’ve been through so many struggles over the years is Dov Hikind. First of all, politically, he was active 38 years running for elective office in Borough Park, going back and forth to Albany. He knew Eric Adams as state senator. Obviously had a lot of dealings with him up in Albany. He certainly knew Cuomo as governor and attorney general. So he knows everyone, and he is completely in support of me because he knows, whenever Jews have been in need, he says, “Curtis was always there.”

[Hikind issued a reluctant call a week before the election for voters to back Cuomo, saying he believed Sliwa could not win.]

Do you have a favorite Jewish restaurant?

Gottlieb’s in Williamsburg. I love the cholent. And I announce, “I’m having a bowl of cholent.” Remember, I’ve had ileitis, colitis, Crohn’s disease — yeah, like a lot of Jews. You know what cholent does to a stomach. “Curtis, please, don’t subject us to that.” “No, I’m going to eat. A bowl. Of cholent.”

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With days before the election in which he is favored to become New York City’s next mayor, Zohran Mamdani tells Jewish New Yorkers that he understands why some might be skeptical of him — and that he would work as mayor to protect and celebrate them nonetheless.

“I don’t begrudge folks who are skeptical of me, especially with tens of millions of dollars having been spent against me with the intent to do just that, but I hope to prove that I am someone to build a relationship with, not one to fear,” Mamdani tells the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Related: What Zohran Mamdani has actually said about Jews, Israel and antisemitism

The comment was included in Mamdani’s written responses to questions submitted by JTA and the New York Jewish Week to his campaign this week. The full Q&A, covering Mamdani’s relationships with Jewish New Yorkers, his policies and principles as a vocal pro-Palestinian advocate, his favorite Hanukkah movie and more, is below.

JTA’s Andrew Cuomo Q&A | JTA’s Curtis Sliwa Q&A

You have consistently assured Jewish New Yorkers that you will make sure their synagogues are safe on the High Holidays. What is your vision for synagogue security when it is not a major holiday, and would your vision for the Department of Community Safety play a role?

The first step is acknowledging the terrifying rise in antisemitism in our city. As hate crimes overall decreased from 2023 to 2024, antisemitic ones increased. There were 345 antisemitic hate crimes last year, making up more than half of all hate crimes recorded. Many Jewish New Yorkers no longer feel safe to be who they are in this city. Our relationship with houses of worship must be one of collaboration and partnership, and the process for getting NYPD presence should be one that is simple, not one that requires faith leaders to have the mayor on speed dial. I’ve proposed a public safety plan that keeps Jewish New Yorkers safe: Our Department of Community Safety (DCS) will increase funding to combat and prevent hate crimes by 800% with an emphasis on preventing antisemitic hate crimes. My administration will protect Jewish New Yorkers on the street, on the subway, and in their synagogues.

The head of a liberal pro-Israel group at Bowdoin said that you declined to meet with him as SJP’s president because of your group’s policy of “anti-normalization.” How do you view this philosophy today, and how would it inform your interactions with Jewish organizations and Jewish leaders who support Israel and reject your condemnations of Israel, including claims that it committed genocide?

I’ve been honored to meet with countless Jewish leaders and organizations, including many who have different views on Israel and Zionism than my own. I am looking to be a mayor for all New Yorkers and look forward to meeting with anyone who cares about making the most expensive city in America affordable to all who call it home.

You’ve mentioned several times gaining a new awareness of Jewish New Yorkers’ fears about the phrase “globalize the intifada” after speaking with a rabbi. What else have you learned in your conversations with Jewish leaders? What has been most surprising to you? How have your views or plans changed as a result?

While there are countless New Yorkers who have strong feelings on what happens in Israel and Palestine — myself included — I’ve learned that our areas of agreement far outweigh where we disagree. We all have a shared commitment to not only combating antisemitism and hatred in all its forms, but also to celebrating our communities, to making our city more affordable, and to a vision of a world where every human being is created equal.

We have spoken to a number of Jewish leaders who say they have met with you but will not share the content of their conversation. Why do you think it benefits New Yorkers for their contents to remain off the record?

It’s been beautiful to see the depth and the breadth of the Jewish community in our city. We’ve had honest dialogue—which has been overwhelmingly positive. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to introduce myself as I actually am, because many New Yorkers have only known me as a caricature. And I know that some feel that it can be easier to have productive conversations when both sides can be candid in the knowledge that what is said will remain in that room.

You’ve said you intend not to reinvest city funds in Israel bonds, in keeping with Brad Lander’s decision as comptroller. Would you advocate for divesting the city’s pension funds from Israeli securities entirely, as they did from Russian securities in 2022? Are there other ways that you would seek to advance the cause of BDS as mayor?

My priority as mayor will be to deliver on the affordability agenda I ran on: freezing the rent, universal childcare, and fast and free buses. That will always be the core of my administration. I support the approach of the current comptroller, Brad Lander, to end the practice of purchasing Israel bonds in our pension funds, which we do not do for any other nation.

Are there ways you would seek to boycott or sanction local Jewish not-for-profits for supporting Israel and Israelis that support the settlement movement, as you did with your Not On Our Dime bill? In your view, should such efforts apply to Jerusalem as well as the West Bank? Should they extend to organizations that supply humanitarian support to Israelis in the relevant areas?

Charities and nonprofits that receive a taxpayer subsidy should not support the violation of international law, and that’s what the right-wing Israeli settlement project is doing—an effort that goes against the stated foreign policy of our own government, going back several decades.

A handful of your Jewish mentors and friends have emerged through reporting about your history, and all of them openly share your views about Israel and Palestine. Can you tell us about any longstanding relationship you may have with a Jewish New Yorker who differs in that respect?

Of course — many. I moved to this city when I was 7 years old, and one of the joys of growing up in this city was learning about Jewish religion, identity, and culture through so many of my friends and their families — all of whom had a wide variety of politics on Israel and Palestine. Yet it was not the politics that I recall as much as the invitations to be a part of so many special moments — whether being invited over for Hanukkah to a friend’s home, watching “Eight Crazy Nights” as a kid, and going to b’nai mitzvot throughout my young years. I always understood these examples as part of what it means to be a New Yorker and part of what it means to love this city. Growing up on 118th and Riverside, there were so many times where I would be interacting with Jewish culture not even realizing that I was — I just thought it was the city around me.

Patrick Gaspard, a former Obama administration official and DNC chair, told the New Yorker that you were “a prototype for a new generation of American politicians, forged in the Palestinian-rights movement.” What does that mean to you? What do you hope it means for the Democratic Party’s future position on Israel?

My politics, at its core, is fundamentally one of both humanity and consistency. And I think of Dr. King’s words delivered at Riverside Church in Manhattan, when he said: “If America’s soul becomes totally poisoned, part of the autopsy must read: Vietnam. It can never be saved so long as it destroys the deepest hopes of men the world over.” For so many today, myself included, the struggle for Palestinian human rights is also the struggle to save our collective soul. The Democratic Party, if we hope to retain our claim to being the party of dignity and decency, must be a party of consistency and one that stands up for the human rights of all people, without exception.

You have said you support Israel only as a state with equal rights for all – i.e. not a state that privileges adherents of a single religion — and have never marched in the Israel Day parade. How do you square skipping that parade and joining, say, the Pakistan Day Mela, another event celebrating the independence of a foreign nation that embeds religion into governance and has perpetual conflict with its neighbor?

I look forward to joining —and hosting — many community events celebrating Jewish life in New York and the rich Jewish history and culture of our city. While I will not be attending the Israel Day Parade, my lack of attendance should not be mistaken for a refusal to provide security or the necessary permits for its safety. I’ve been very clear: I believe in equal rights for all people—everywhere. That principle guides me consistently.

As mayor, you would control the city’s public school system. You’ve said you would introduce a curriculum that teaches “about the beauty and breadth of the Jewish experience.” Can you explain more about the vision for this curriculum, including who should create it, what grades should experience it, and how Israel would be addressed in it?

The Hidden Voices program is an existing curriculum that was launched in 2018 as an initiative to help students learn about the many “hidden” New Yorkers — including Jewish New Yorkers and others—who have helped shape the fabric of our city and what it has become. I will be a mayor who ensures that these New Yorkers are no longer hidden, and are taught in our schools. Additionally, our Department of Community Safety will invest in data-backed approaches that prevent violence through education and community-building.

Over the past week, 1,100-plus rabbis have signed a letter against the “political normalization” of anti-Zionism and expressing concerns that your criticism of Israel will make some Jewish New Yorkers less safe. How do you view their response to your campaign? Do you think anti-Zionist rhetoric could, in fact, have that effect on Jewish safety?

I’ve appreciated meeting with Jewish New Yorkers all around this city, talking about what we can do to build bridges, and I look forward to continuing to engage in productive dialogue. I hope they know that, whether or not they support or agree with me, I will always be a mayor who protects them and their communities. I don’t begrudge folks who are skeptical of me, especially with tens of millions of dollars having been spent against me with the intent to do just that, but I hope to prove that I am someone to build a relationship with, not one to fear.

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The post The JTA Q&A with Zohran Mamdani: ‘I don’t begrudge folks who are skeptical of me’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

According to Aristotle, “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” But who nowadays has the time for that? Introspection is so sedentary — and, frankly, boring. We live in an age of velocity, not reflection. 

Yet it’s precisely this lack of self-reflection — and our tendency to substitute reinvention and external change for true self-discovery — that lies at the heart of our modern dissatisfaction. After all, it’s much more fun to scroll through video shorts than to wonder why you want to waste time scrolling in the first place. 

Everyone is on the go: new careers, new locations, new experiences, new “life phases.” If you’re not pivoting, you’re stagnating.

People relocate for “personal growth,” and totally rebrand themselves on LinkedIn, while announcing on Instagram that they’re “leaning into new energy.” Others treat life like a scavenger hunt for fulfillment that never quite fulfills — hopping from city to city, relationship to relationship, hoping that meaning will finally show up. 

But it never does.  Meanwhile, the self we’re trying so hard to discover is right there, ready to be discovered, if only we’d do what it takes. You can change time zones, climates, and cuisines — but if you haven’t yet met yourself, none of it matters.

Everyone remembers George Foreman, the former heavyweight champion who died earlier this year. What fewer people know is that in the 1970s, he was all about grit and intimidation — not just a master of power punches, but a man whose piercing glare conveyed raw menace. 

His persona was built on one unshakable belief: that strength meant never showing softness. Then, in 1977, after a brutal fight with Jimmy Young in Puerto Rico, Foreman collapsed in the locker room and had what he would later describe as a near-death experience that included an encounter with God. 

When he recovered, Foreman didn’t talk about revenge nor did he re-embrace his brutish behavior. Instead, he said quietly, “I have to change. I have to be kinder.”

Within days, Foreman retired from boxing. He was just 28 years old, still in his prime. Though he had never been religious, he became an ordained minister, preached on street corners, opened a youth center, fed the hungry, and spent years becoming someone gentler than the angry young fighter he had once been. 

And then came the twist: ten years later, he returned to boxing, softer, calmer, smiling — instead of scowling and glowering as he had in his younger years. Remarkably, that new, real version of George Foreman, the one who had finally met himself, became world champion again.

The greatest journey of all is the voyage of self-discovery, and ironically, it’s the one trip almost nobody books. In the rush for ambition and adrenaline, people often swap their real selves for a curated version meant for public display. 

At first, it’s like wearing a costume, but soon enough, that costume is a cage. Before long, your true self is concealed, masked by something polished on the outside yet painfully misaligned on the inside. What begins as ambition ends in dissonance and quiet self-destruction.

Which is why the divine instruction that opens Parshat Lech Lecha is so remarkable (Gen. 12:1): לֶךְ־לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ אֶל־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ — “Go forth from your land, your birthplace, your father’s house, to the land that I will show you.” 

It sounds like an invitation to travel, and it was. Avraham traveled from Ur Kasdim to Charan, from Charan into Canaan, down to Egypt during the famine, and then back to Canaan again. He crossed deserts, borders, cultures, and civilizations. It was no mere symbolic stroll.

But that opening phrase, Lech Lecha, usually translated as “go forth,” is actually quite clumsy — because it doesn’t really mean “go forth.” More accurately, it means “go to yourself,” or “go for yourself.” 

And that is the revolutionary point. Yes, Avraham traveled — but God was telling him that the journey that mattered most wasn’t geographical. It was existential. Lech lecha — “Go to yourself.” Wherever you go, don’t lose sight of the true destination: you. Every step on the road was really a step inward.

Modern science backs up this ancient truth. Psychologists refer to it as the “geographic cure” — the mistaken belief that a new city, a new house, or a new job will magically solve life’s frustrations. 

Countless studies show that while moving might deliver a short-term jolt of excitement, the feeling rarely lasts. If you were restless in one place, you’ll likely be restless in the next place as well — only now with the additional stress of having to adapt to a new environment.

The pattern is clear: changing your surroundings won’t change your soul. And perhaps that’s why, when God told Avraham to Lech lecha, He wasn’t sending him somewhere new to find something there that he didn’t already have. Instead, God gave him fair warning that whatever he was looking for, he already had — and that it was this that he needed to focus on.

The great Chasidic master, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, told one of the most disarmingly simple and profound stories about self-discovery ever recorded. 

There was once a poor tailor living in a little village in Ukraine who kept having the same dream night after night: a dazzling treasure lay buried beneath a famous bridge in Vienna. 

After weeks of this nightly vision, he could no longer ignore it. So he packed a few belongings and some food, kissed his family goodbye, and set off across Europe to claim his fortune.

When he finally arrived in Vienna, he found the bridge exactly as it had appeared in his dreams. But there was only one problem: it was crawling with imperial guards, and digging for treasure was impossible. 

The poor tailor loitered nearby, day after day, trying to look casual and waiting for a time when he might be able to dig. Eventually, a guard approached him. “What are you doing here?” he demanded.

Cornered, the tailor told the truth. “I had a dream,” he confessed, “that if I came to this bridge, I would find a valuable treasure hidden beneath it.” 

The guard’s eyes widened in surprise, and then he burst out laughing. “A dream? You crossed half the world because of a silly dream? Last week, I dreamt that in some shabby little village in Ukraine, under the stove of a poor tailor’s house, there’s a chest filled with gold. Do you see me running off to chase it?” 

The tailor froze. That shabby little village was his village. And that poor tailor was him. The bridge was never the point. He thanked the guard politely, hurried home, dug beneath his own floor, and found the treasure that had been waiting for him all along.

That is the exact message of Lech Lecha. Avraham traveled, yes. But the Torah isn’t really interested in his meanderings. Rather, it wants to teach us that the longest distance he traveled was inward. 

Wherever he went, he never lost sight of who he was and who he was meant to be. His journey, like the tailor’s, shows us the importance of turning inward rather than outward for fulfillment. 

We often think that fulfillment is just over the horizon. But geography only changes your view, not your soul. If reinvention is what you need, it can only start from within. Lech lecha — go to yourself. That’s where the real treasure is — and where it has always been.

The author is a rabbi in Beverly Hills, California.