An 86-year-old Holocaust survivor who was barred from speaking at a Brooklyn middle school last month is set to meet with Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday, International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Jewish leaders and community officials are criticizing the planned meeting as a hollow gesture amid mounting concerns over antisemitism and City Hall’s posture toward the Jewish community.

Sami Steigmann, who survived a childhood spent in a Nazi labor camp in Ukraine and was subjected to medical experimentation, is scheduled to receive a brief visit from Mamdani on Tuesday. The meeting, arranged by the nonprofit Blue Card, is expected to last no more than 10 minutes and will include the mayor’s media team.

Steigmann himself has expressed skepticism about the mayor’s motives, describing the visit as largely symbolic.

“Of course it’s for a photo op — he’s a politician,” Steigmann told The New York Post. “But I’ll talk to anybody. I’m aware of it — he’s using me.”

The meeting comes weeks after Steigmann was blocked from speaking at a Brooklyn middle school because of his pro-Israel views, which sparked backlash from Jewish advocates and renewed debate over how New York schools and city institutions are handling issues related to Israel, antisemitism, and Holocaust education.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist whose rhetoric on Israel has drawn sustained criticism from Jewish leaders and pro-Israel groups, has been accused of contributing to a climate in which antisemitism is minimized or reframed as political discourse.

While Steigmann typically spends an hour or more sharing his story with students and community groups, he said the short format leaves little opportunity for meaningful discussion of his experiences, or for deeper engagement with the issues facing Holocaust survivors today.

“He’s not going to listen to a survivor’s story,” Steigmann said of the mayor. “What can we do in 10 minutes?”

Steigmann said he requested permission to bring someone with him to the meeting but was told no by Blue Card.

City Hall has rejected claims that the visit is performative, with officials insisting that Mamdani is committed to combating antisemitism and preserving Holocaust memory.

“Mayor Zohran Mamdani is unwavering in his commitment to confronting and eradicating antisemitism wherever it appears in our city, and to ensuring that future generations understand the history and lessons of the Holocaust,” City Hall spokesperson Monica Klein said in a statement.

The mayor’s office declined to comment on the expected length of the meeting or whether any policy discussions — including survivor services or housing — would be part of the visit.

After surviving the Holocaust and later building a life in New York, Steigmann said he is now struggling with housing, living in a Harlem walk-up apartment that has become increasingly difficult to navigate. He said he hopes the mayor might be able to help him access affordable housing or alternative accommodations more suitable for his age.

Despite being urged by friends to decline the meeting, Steigmann said he views it as a chance — however limited — to raise his personal needs and advocate for other survivors facing similar challenges.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)