New York City Council Elects Julie Menin as First Jewish Speaker Amid Calls to Counter Rising Antisemitism and Islamophobia

The New York City Council unanimously elected councilwoman Julie Menin, a Democrat, as its speaker on Wednesday. Menin, a moderate Democrat who has voiced support for Israel, became the council’s first Jewish speaker. She is also described as a representative of parts of the Upper East Side and has served as a check on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whose statements have included plans to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the city.

Accepting the speakership, Menin credited her upbringing as the child of a Holocaust survivor with shaping her political values. “The East Side of Manhattan was a community that welcomed my family with open arms, a community that gave them a better life after the horrors they had been through, and with the beauty of life, brings things full circle,” she said. “I now have the great honor and distinction of representing that neighborhood.”

Menin compared Islamophobia in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks to the “hatred and violence” she described as “running rampant across our country and around the world.” She noted that New York City had recently elected its first Muslim mayor and now its first Jewish speaker, stating: “What will write this interfaith leadership into history books is if it can act as an opportunity for all of us to come together, to calm tensions, to bridge divides and to recognize we are one city, no matter the religion we practice or the language we speak.”

Menin secured 51 votes for her speakership with no opposition. She has publicly supported Israel, including marching in the city’s most recent Israel Day Parade, and has worked to combat Jew-hatred through initiatives like Holocaust education. In interviews ahead of the speaker vote, Menin expressed concerns about Mayor Mamdani’s repeal of executive orders related to fighting antisemitism on his first day in office. “I was extremely concerned about the repeal of the executive orders and other matters,” she said after a phone call with the mayor. “He indicated that he had issued a new executive order, which continues the Office to Combat Antisemitism and directs the police commissioner to look at protests around houses of worship.”

Several Jewish council members praised Menin’s historic appointment during the vote. Inna Vernikov, one of five Republicans on the council, stated: “At a time when antisemitism has entered every corner of our society, it is especially heartening to see Julie Menin, a daughter of Holocaust survivors and an important voice against antisemitism, to be sworn in as our first Jewish speaker today.” Vernikov also called for the council to serve as a check on the mayor’s “radical, Marxist agenda.”

Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, described Menin’s name with a biological meaning during the invocation: “In medical terms, the word ‘menin’ is a protein that suppresses disease. We need more Menin to stop the spread of this disease of hatred.”