Habibi City: The 31-page New York Magazine project critics are calling antisemitic
It has drawn accusations from Jewish groups and activists that it marginalizes New York’s Jewish community and overlooks the history and identity of Jews whose families originated in Arab countries
New York Magazine is facing sharp criticism over a 31-page special project titled “Habibi City,” a roughly 5,000-word package exploring Arab and Muslim culture in New York City during the tenure of Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The online feature, which includes a main article by writer Zaina Arafat as well as sections devoted to food, comedy and nightlife, has drawn accusations from Jewish groups and activists that it marginalizes New York’s Jewish community and overlooks the history and identity of Jews whose families originated in Arab countries and the broader Middle East.
Critics also objected to the feature’s focus on the war in Gaza, including references to alleged “genocide,” and to language describing Israel as “a mass of land now called Israel.”
Jewish organizations were particularly critical of Arafat’s main article, in which she expressed solidarity with SWANA — Southwest Asian and North African — New Yorkers who continue to face “xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Zionism,” alongside what she described as the consequences of speaking out against them. Critics said the comparison unfairly characterized Zionism as a form of hatred.
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The pro-Israel organization AIPAC said the magazine’s framing “erases what [Zionism] actually represents for millions of Jews: the belief that Jews, like other peoples, have the right to national self-determination and security.”
Jewish civil rights organization End Jew Hatred also condemned the feature, saying: “Jewish identity is not theirs to erase, and Jewish history will not be rewritten to fit a political narrative.”
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The backlash has also come from some New Yorkers of Arab and Middle Eastern descent. Jordana Horn, a journalist and former contributor to New York Magazine, told the New York Post that she had canceled her subscription, accusing the magazine of “working to erase Jewish history and identity” and of fueling anti-Jewish sentiment in the city.
Avraham Hamra, an immigration attorney and member of New York’s Syrian Jewish community, also criticized the project, telling the New York Post: “As a Syrian Jew, I know what cultural erasure looks like, and it is especially offensive to see it rebranded as progress.”