The New York Public Library is coming under scrutiny from Jewish leaders after it hosted author Benjamin Moser at an event where he mocked Jewish fears of antisemitism, ridiculing what he called the “poor me thing that all these Jews are suddenly having,” according to a recording of the event obtained by Jewish Insider. 

Moser’s remarks were made at a Sept. 22 event to launch his new book, Anti-Zionism: A Jewish History. The discussion, which was moderated by Palestinian American historian Rashid Khalidi — held in the NYPL’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building — went beyond criticism of Israeli policy. 

Moser, who is Jewish, accused “almost all of the main Jewish institutions” in America of having “supported this genocide” — referring to Israel’s war in Gaza — and said “nothing has made Jews look worse in history” than Zionism, while singling out Rabbi Angela Buchdahl of Central Synagogue, the Manhattan congregation that faced an antisemitic attack over the summer. 

He also dismissed the Anti-Defamation League’s tracking of antisemitic incidents as a “fundraising model.” He went on to accuse Jews of exploiting “poor me” complaints, such as walking “down Madison Avenue” and saying that “‘I couldn’t get a croissant and it’s like [Nazi extermination camp] Treblinka.’ This is really stuff you see on social media every day.”

"I was never raised with this poor me thing that all these Jews are suddenly having."

Benjamin Moser mocked Jewish fears of antisemitism at a New York Public Library event for his new book lauding anti-Zionism.

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— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) September 30, 2026

Khalidi, an Edward Said professor emeritus of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University and a leading Palestinian historian, said during the event that “the vibe” during the anti-Israel encampment that roiled Columbia’s campus in 2024 “was not antisemitic.” 

The comments came as antisemitic incidents in New York and nationwide remain near historic highs, ranking among the three worst years recorded since the ADL began tracking data in 1979.

NYPL is a nonprofit but heavily subsidized by the city. The New York City mayor, speaker of the City Council and comptroller all serve as ex officio voting members on the NYPL Board of Trustees. 

Comptroller Mark Levine, who is Jewish, told JI the comments were “reprehensible.”

“We discussed it with the Library and understand and respect their position as a guardian of free speech,” said Levine. 

Brent Reidy, director of research libraries at the NYPL, opened the event by saying that many at the library and beyond have “strong and differing feelings on Zionism, anti-Zionism and rising antisemitism and Islamophobia.”

In a statement to JI, NYPL spokesperson Melissa Grace defended the event, saying, “The Library abides by an overarching principle to host speakers, programs, and public discussions that offer a diversity of viewpoints and cultural perspectives. We host over 100,000 events a year. Programming is never an institutional endorsement, but rather an opportunity to let people come to their own conclusions, debate, or even change their mind. We do not police speech, which is consistent with our commitment to intellectual freedom and the protections of the First Amendment.”

“No one is asking the public library to become the speech police and a library should absolutely be a place where complex ideas [are shared],” Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, told JI. “But intellectual freedom and institutional judgement are not mutually exclusive. My concern is not that Israel was criticized, the issue is that the discussion pretty quickly shifted from criticism of the government into mocking of Jewish identity and fear.”