In a quiet but highly symbolic gesture, New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani visited the Ohel — the gravesite of the Lubavitcher Rebbe — in Old Montefiore Cemetery, Queens, on Monday evening, December 15, 2025. The visit came just one day after a horrific antisemitic terrorist attack at a Chabad-organized Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach left at least 15 people dead and dozens wounded.
Chabad officials and community activists confirmed that Mamdani reached out himself to arrange the visit. He was accompanied by Crown Heights activist Yaacov Behrman, who works as a PR liaison for Chabad. Photos quickly circulated in Jewish WhatsApp groups and on social media showing Mamdani wearing a black velvet kippah, standing at the gravesite in private prayer to honor the victims.
The Bondi Beach massacre targeted hundreds of people gathered for “Chanukah by the Sea,” an open-air event hosted by local Chabad emissaries. Australian authorities have classified the shooting — carried out by two gunmen — as an antisemitic terrorist attack. Among the victims was Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a Chabad rabbi with deep personal ties to Crown Heights, Brooklyn, the global headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
Mamdani had already issued a strong public condemnation on Sunday, calling the attack “a vile act of antisemitic terror” and mourning the victims, especially Rabbi Schlanger. He wrote: “What happened at Bondi is what many Jewish people fear will happen in their communities too. … When I am Mayor, I will work every day to keep Jewish New Yorkers safe — on our streets, our subways, at shul, in every moment of every day.”
The Ohel, the resting place of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (the Rebbe) and his father-in-law Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, draws roughly one million visitors annually. It has become a pilgrimage site for politicians of all backgrounds seeking inspiration, solace, or connection with the Jewish community. Former Mayor Eric Adams visited at least seven times during his tenure. Mamdani’s appearance at the Ohel is being viewed by some as part of his ongoing outreach to Jewish New Yorkers following his election victory on November 4, 2025. The mayor-elect — who will become the city’s first Muslim and first South Asian mayor — has faced intense scrutiny over his past criticism of Israel and support for progressive causes. Many in the Jewish community, especially in Orthodox and pro-Israel circles, remain skeptical and watchful.
Others see the visit as a meaningful step. Some Chabad chapters shared the photos with positive captions, noting that “when light and darkness meet, light has the power to transform.” As Hanukkah continues amid heightened security at public menorah lightings across New York City, the mayor-elect’s visit to the Ohel underscores both the grief felt worldwide and the urgent need for unity against antisemitism.
Sources: Midtown Tribune, Big New York news BigNY.com
