The son of late Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel endorsed Republican Saritha Komatireddy for state attorney general on Wednesday – in a blow against incumbent Democrat Letitia James.
Elisa Wiesel, whose father authored the book “Night” that documented life in the Nazi concentration camps, posted a photo of him standing with the GOP hopeful on his social media accounts.
“The only way to stamp down on antisemitism in NYC is to prosecute it,” Wiesel, the chairman of the Eli Wiesel Foundation. “I stand with @sarithaforny as she campaigns for the critical post of NY Attorney General!”
Komatireddy, a former federal prosecutor, said she was grateful for the activist’s support.
“Jewish New Yorkers are being attacked on the street, outside their synagogues and at school,” the candidate said. “The Attorney General has the legal authority to stop it. Letitia James hasn’t used it. I will.”
Wiesel linked to a press release that Komatireddy issued on Tuesday in response to Israel critic Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s “strategy to combat antisemitism.”
“I’ll give the Mayor this much: the plan acknowledges that antisemitism is real and growing in this city,” Komatireddy said. “Funding for security and for NYPD hate-crime work is needed, but someone has to make sure that we take that case into a courtroom and win it.
“Hate crimes in New York have doubled under AG Letitia James and antisemitic incidents have tripled. Her record is indefensible.”
Jewish New Yorkers make up roughly 12% of New York City’s population but are the target of 57% of hate crimes recorded this year, with confirmed hate crimes against Jews up in the Big Apple this year, she noted.
Komatireddy is facing off against James, heavily favored to win re-election to a third term in the deeply blue Empire State.
She previously served as New York City public advocate and Brooklyn councilwoman.
James defended her record of fighting to protect Jewish new Yorkers.
“New York Attorney General Letitia James has stood shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish community at every step of her career,” a James campaign spokesperson said.
“From fighting housing discrimination against Jewish families in Chester, holding price gougers looking to scam Jewish communities to account, to condemning antisemitism in all its forms, Attorney General James has been a steadfast ally to Jewish New Yorkers and she will never stop fighting to keep them safe from hate,” the James campaign rep added.
As a federal prosecutor in Brooklyn’s Eastern District of New York, Komatireddy handled some of the most high-profile cases involving international terrorism, cybercrime, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, and public corruption.
James has garnered nationwide attention for prosecuting and securing a conviction against President Trump and his company for fraudulent practices.
She has filed numerous lawsuits against the Trump administration, including one last week for allegedly providing energy companies $1.4 billion in funds to cancel four critical offshore wind projects.
James also commissioned a sexual misconduct probe of ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo that triggered the Democrat’s resignation from office in 2021, even as he denied wrongdoing.
