TO: MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI
At a time of active public health threats, New Yorkers expect the Department of Health to remain focused on its core mission. Reports that Department staff convened a “Global Oppression Working Group” during taxpayer funded work hours, developed in response to claims of “genocide” in Gaza and centered on anti-Israel activity, are deeply troubling.
Using taxpayer funded time and resources to advance contested political narratives about a foreign conflict falls far outside the Department of Health’s mandate and does not advance its stated mission, raising serious concerns about institutional judgment, misuse of public funds, and erosion of public trust.
The Department of Health’s own mission makes this boundary clear: “We protect and promote the health of more than 8 million New Yorkers by providing essential health services, promoting public health initiatives, preventing the spread of disease, and many other unseen efforts that keep our city safe and healthy.”
Nothing about the reported working group advances this mission. Instead, it reflects ideological advocacy wholly unrelated to public health. Allowing such activity to proceed unchecked risks normalizing antisemitism within city government and encouraging mission drift across city agencies.
As Mayor, we urge you to take immediate action:
• Initiate an independent investigation into the Department of Health’s working group, including its stated mission, leadership authorization, and use of taxpayer funded staff time and resources.
• Release the findings publicly and take appropriate corrective action.
• Immediately suspend politically oriented working groups within the Department of Health that fall outside its mandate.
• Reaffirm citywide rules prohibiting political or anti-Israel advocacy during taxpayer funded work hours.
• Take concrete steps to confront antisemitism within city agencies.
Public health is not a political platform.
We urge immediate action.
Sincerely,
[The Undersigned]
P.S. Please share this petition to help reinforce this call for accountability and make clear that misuse of taxpayer-funded time for anti-Israel political advocacy has no place in New York City government.