News that employees in the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene had launched an anti-Israel “working group” inside the agency’s headquarters provoked outrage among both progressive and conservative leaders in the New York City Council.

The New York Post first reported on Wednesday that employees of the mayorally controlled agency — which oversees restaurant inspections, disease control, vital statistics and addiction services — held the inaugural meeting of its “Global Oppression and Public Health Working Group” inside its main office in Queens during the workday on Tuesday. A presenter acknowledged that the working group “really developed in response to the ongoing genocide in Palestine,” according to materials the Post obtained. 

City Council Speaker Julie Menin, the first Jewish person to lead the body, told the Post that an investigation into the matter was “necessary to protect the public trust and address the unacceptable rise in antisemitism across New York City.”

City Councilmember Lynn Schulman, a Democrat who co-chairs the body’s health committee and serves as vice chair of its Jewish Caucus, described herself as “deeply troubled” at the news. However, she said that the agency had assured her it was probing the situation. 

The department did not respond immediately to a request for comment from Jewish Insider.

“DOHMH should be singularly focused on protecting and improving the health of New Yorkers — not advancing political narratives unrelated to its mission,” Schulman, a longtime progressive activist, wrote in a statement. “Politicizing a public health agency undermines trust, morale, and the core mission of the department.”

“This incident is especially troubling given the alarming rise of antisemitism we are seeing in New York City — including multiple antisemitic [acts] reported in recent weeks. Hosting a meeting that promotes inflammatory accusations while ignoring antisemitism entirely only deepens and alienates Jewish employees and residents,” she added. 

The report also drew condemnation from City Councilmember Joann Ariola, a Republican who represents parts of Queens.

“What this is, to be clear, is thinly veiled activism that is attempting to normalize itself within a city agency,” she said in a statement. “Jewish New Yorkers already feel under attack just walking the streets of this city. They should not have to be in fear about the radical ideology of their healthcare providers.”