The City Council’s Progressive Caucus has tapped a Jewish anti-Israel activist as its new director, sparking outrage from the public and even within its own ranks, The Post has learned.
The 34-member caucus, which comprises a majority of the 51 council members, announced Emily Mayer as its new director earlier this month, calling her a “talented and dedicated organizer.”
“Her track record working with progressive organizations that seek to transform our politics for the better…is exactly the kind of leadership our Caucus needs,” the group said in a June 1 statement.
“The hiring is a blatant act of anti-Semitism and it tells you what the future of New York is going to look like unless we change the course,” said veteran Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf, an ordained Orthodox rabbi.
Sheinkopf called the move “a warning to New Yorkers that they had better reject these folks during the council elections next year.”
Mayer, 30, is a co-founder of the Washington, DC-based nonprofit group “If Not Now,” which seeks “to end American Jewish communal support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine,” according to its latest tax-exempt filing with the IRS.
Even a member of the progressive group was upset by the choice, telling The Post: “This hire was a mistake and her views do not represent the views of the caucus.”
Former Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind, founder of Americans Against Antisemitism, said hiring Mayer was “an embarrassment” and “a disgrace.”
“We know who this woman is and if you think it’s OK for her to be in that position, then you are legitimizing hate,” he said.
A Jewish community leader who spoke on condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisals called Mayer’s hiring “really outrageous.”
“It’s not progressive to promote anti-Semitism and in a city as diverse as New York – where the Progressive Caucus claims to represent everyone,” the source said.
“They’ve sent a very clear message to traditional Jews: you’re not welcome here.”
Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (R-Brooklyn) called the caucus’ decision was “dangerous and irresponsible,” citing “anti-Semitism on the rise, hate crimes out of control and Jews being beaten daily.”
“Democrats should take a hard look at the direction of our city and take a stand to disavow this decision,” she said.
The caucus wouldn’t say how much it’s paying Mayer, who replaced Osman Ahmed.
He was paid $70,000 a year in taxpayer funds, according to city records.
In 2017, she wrote that she “learned to distance myself from Judaism early,” saying, “As the grandchild of Holocaust survivors and American communists and the child of a sworn atheist, I grew up with a deeply conflicted relationship with Judaism.”
But her May 14 marriage to Waleed Shahid, a spokesman for the progressive Justice Democrats political action committee, was a dual Jewish-Muslim ceremony.
It was officiated by city Comptroller Brad Lander, a founding co-chair of the Progressive Caucus.
Mayer’s boss, Progressive Caucus co-chair Lincoln Restler (D-Brooklyn) said her “job is focused on transforming municipal government, not international affairs. She was the best candidate to do that.”
He added: “Emily is an exceptionally talented organizer and strategist and we are thrilled that she is leading the progressive caucus.”
