Mayor Mamdani’s Sukkot Pantry Visit With Rabbi Nisanov Sparks Community Debate

When Mayor Zohran Mamdani arrived at the Kehilat Sephardim Food Pantry at 153rd Street and 78th Road in Kew Gardens Hills on Monday, Sept. 28, the Chol HaMoed Sukkot visit quickly became a flashpoint in Queens Jewish conversation.

According to the Queens Jewish Link, the appearance marked Mamdani’s first visit to Kew Gardens Hills since taking office in January. It came days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Mamdani at the United Nations of spreading falsehoods about Israel; Mamdani has described Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide. Many Orthodox and Bukharian residents objected to receiving him inside a neighborhood synagogue setting.

Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov, a Bukharian Jew born in what is now Uzbekistan and long known locally as an unofficial “Mayor of Main Street,” told the Link he consulted a prominent Queens rav before agreeing. The poseik advised that receiving the sitting mayor at a food distribution was an obligation and that refusing would be a chilul Hashem—while distinguishing a pantry visit from addressing the congregation. City Hall’s schedule listed the stop simply as a food distribution.

Photographs showed Mamdani handing food to recipients alongside Rabbi Nisanov. In a statement afterward, Mamdani opened with “Moed tov! Суккот муборак!” and thanked the rabbi for linking service to holiday joy. During the visit, Rabbi Nisanov’s mother asked why many Jews see the mayor as antisemitic; according to Rabbi Nisanov, Mamdani replied, “If I were an anti-Semite, would I be here in your food pantry?”

Kehilat’s pantry, established around 1990 to help immigrants from the former Soviet Union, now distributes more than 25,000 food packages monthly and serves more than 6,000 people weekly, Rabbi Nisanov said. The food is kosher; recipients span religions and backgrounds. The day after the visit, the administration unveiled a municipal strategy to combat antisemitism.

Sources: Queens Jewish Link. Image: Tdorante10 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.