JTA — I recently attended Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Shavuot Jewish heritage event at Gracie Mansion. The response has been intense: A donor cut funds from a Chabad colleague over their affiliation with me, and someone even attempted to get me fired.

I understand the anger and the noble intentions of some Jewish leaders who called for a boycott of the mayor’s event. Mamdani’s recent video about “Nakba Day,” which depicted Israel’s war for independence and the plight of Palestinians in a one-sided manner, was deeply disturbing and irresponsible. It was dishonest, divisive and unhelpful, offering no path toward peace, no serious attempt at nuance and no contribution to making New Yorkers safer.

But how would skipping the event accomplish anything meaningful? It would not change the mayor’s views, have any real impact on him, or delegitimize him in the eyes of the average New Yorker.

His legitimacy as mayor comes from the fact that he was democratically elected. If he loses legitimacy, it will not be because someone skipped this or any other event. It will be because New Yorkers judge his record, his rhetoric, his ability to keep them safe, and whether the city thrives under his leadership.

In March, there was a similar controversy over a meeting between Mamdani and Orthodox Jewish leaders, including leaders from Williamsburg, Flatbush and Crown Heights. Mainstream Jewish leaders representing some of New York’s largest and most respected Jewish organizations........

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