Jessica Tisch apologizes for brother’s remarks about Zohran Mamdani
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New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said Thursday that NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch personally apologized to her team after her brother called him an “enemy” of the Jewish people during a high-profile charity dinner in Manhattan on Wednesday night.
Speaking at the Cocoa Chat community meeting, Mamdani emphasized that the apology was accepted and that he plans to govern on behalf of all New Yorkers.
“The commissioner apologized to my team for his remarks, and I look forward to being mayor for every New Yorker, including Jewish New Yorkers,” Mamdani said.
He emphasized that the incident would not affect his working relationship with Tisch, whom he chose to continue in his role as police commissioner despite policy disagreements.
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Mayor-elect Mamdani responded to comments made by Benjamin Tisch, brother of NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, during the Community Cocoa event on Thursday. (Getty Images)
“My focus in my conversations with Commissioner Tisch is to ensure public safety, coupled with justice for New Yorkers across the five boroughs,” he said. “He conveyed his apology to the team. I appreciated it and my focus was on delivering again.”
NYPD spokesman Brad Weekes shared the commissioner’s message in a statement to Fox News Digital:
“I understand the fear in the Jewish community. It is my sincere belief that the next mayor will fulfill his commitment 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 the Loews Corporation, used his remarks at the Met Council’s annual gala to label Mamdani an “enemy” of the Jewish people. New York Daily News.
Witnesses to the premiere, held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Manhattan, described the moment as jarring, especially since Commissioner Tisch had recently agreed to remain at the helm of the NYPD under Mamdani’s new administration.
One attendee told the Daily News the room reacted in stunned silence: “It was just like ‘wow, he’s really going to go there.” Benjamin Tisch has yet to publicly comment on the incident.
Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani speaks with members of the media at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the Queens borough of New York on Wednesday, November 5, 2025. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Mamdani, a democratic socialist and vocal critic of Israel, has repeatedly denied suggestions that his views on Israel are anti-Semitic.
According to the NY Daily News, members of the broader Tisch family donated more than $1 million to super PACs opposing Mamdani and supporting former Gov. Andrew Cuomo during the 2025 mayoral race. Commissioner Tisch did not donate.
“The two of us will not shy away from the fact that we have disagreements on certain issues… but I also believe that those disagreements are not only reconcilable, but also a sign of a healthy partnership to come,” Mamdani told the NY Daily News last month.
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The flare-up occurred just weeks before Mamdani’s Jan. 1 inauguration.
A representative for Mayor-elect Mamdani and Benjamin Tisch did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
