New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani addresses his supporters at a Democratic primary election night watch party in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images)
(New York Jewish Week) — Zohran Mamdani’s apparent upset victory in New York’s Democratic mayoral primary has set off shock waves among a Jewish communal establishment that has usually been able to count on Hizzoner to be in their corner on Israel and related issues.
At the same time, two of the city’s most veteran Jewish pro-Israel Democratic politicians – including the highest-ranking Jewish member of Congress – raced to issue endorsements of Mamdani, a supporter of the boycott Israel movement.
Because Mamdani has broken the pro-Israel mold of past mayors — with his staunch condemnations of Israel and his embrace of much of the rhetoric of the pro-Palestinian left — his victory over a strongly pro-Israel rival like former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has tied the Jewish political and communal establishment in knots.
Many of their statements appeared to mixed disappointment in the results with resignation that Mamdani could end up being mayor. As a result, they described how they might work with the 33-year-old upstart, who as the likely Democratic nominee has an enormous advantage in the November election.
“Our Jewish community is strong and resilient,” wrote the UJA-Federation of New York, a charitable fundraising powerhouse and supporter of a wide range of local and Israeli Jewish social service, educational, cultural and advocacy organizations and institutions, in a statement. “We’ve had to be for generations. We know there is a lot of concern right now — but we’ll not waver in our values. We’ll keep standing up, forcefully and unapologetically, for our community’s needs, for Israel, and for all New Yorkers.”
Rabbi Moshe Hauer, vice president of the Orthodox Union, called for Mamdani to “prioritize the safety and security of New Yorkers over his ‘strong feelings about what happens overseas,’” quoting the candidate’s victory speech.
“The safety of all New Yorkers — including Jewish New Yorkers — is the single greatest responsibility of the Mayor of New York,” Hauer said in a statement. “That safety has been deeply impacted by the rhetoric and actions of those whose opposition to Zionism has driven them to work to instill fear and intimidation in Jews who support Israel. It is time for Mr. Mamdani to move from disturbance to responsibility and to unambiguously reject and [rein] in these actors with whom he has been strongly associated.”
Key Jewish Democratic politicians sounded a starkly different note, embracing the rising progressive star and highlighting shared areas of agreements on domestic issues.
New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader who likes to call himself the “shomer” (guardian) of Israel, spoke with Mamdani Wednesday and congratulated him on social media.
“I have known @ZohranKMamdani since we worked together to provide debt relief for thousands of beleaguered taxi drivers & fought to stop a fracked gas plant in Astoria,” Schumer posted on X. “He ran an impressive campaign that connected with New Yorkers about affordability, fairness, & opportunity.”
U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, the pro-Israel stalwart on the Upper West Side and parts of the Upper East Side, was even more enthusiastic in a statement intended to assure pro-Israel voters that he understood their qualms.
“Voters in New York City demanded change and, with Zohran’s triumph, we have a direct repudiation of Donald Trump’s politics of tax cuts and authoritarianism,” Nadler said Wednesday, as he endorsed Mamdani in the general election. “I’ve spoken to him today about his commitment to fighting antisemitism, and we’ll work with all New Yorkers to fight against all bigotry and hate.”
Plenty of Jewish New Yorkers welcomed Mamdani’s victory without qualifications, or were at least relieved that Cuomo — who was trailed by 11 sexual harassment allegations and represented to progressives discredited politics of the past — was forced to concede after the first round of ranked-choice voting. (The results may not be official for days.)
Leaders of the progressive New York group Jews for Racial and Economic Justice were “thrilled” with Tuesday night’s results. JFREJ had endorsed Mamdani in a dual, unranked endorsement alongside New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is Jewish.
“I can’t speak to how other people feel, but I can say that as a Jewish New Yorker, and as a member of a Jewish organization, I think that Zohran has done an incredible job of demonstrating care and concern and shown a real commitment to ensuring the safety of Jewish New Yorkers, of all New Yorkers,” said Sophie Ellman-Golan, director of strategic communications at JFREJ.
She cited Mamdani’s hate violence prevention proposal, which he says would increase funding to the city’s anti-hate programs by 800% and establish a Department of Community Safety. (Mamdani’s proposal specifically addresses the rise of antisemitic hate crimes committed in New York City.)
Still, Mamdani skeptics say that he has much to learn, and should distance himself from the rhetoric he has used in the past in talking about Israel and Palestinians and from some of his political alignments, in order to better represent New York’s Jews.
“Zohran Mamdani clearly received a percentage of Jewish New Yorkers’ votes last night,” said Sara Forman, executive director of New York Solidarity Network, a group formed in 2022 to counter the boycott Israel movement and promote security for Jews. “It’s really going to be on him to clarify a lot of his personal views and policy plans if he wants the community.”
One example Forman said she would like to see is continued support for the federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which provides security funding for synagogues and other religious institutions.
“It would be really great to have an honest conversation without voices that he’s familiar with,” she added. “He should make an attempt to speak with people who he does not agree with, and sit at a table with someone like me and understand that there’s two sides to every story.”
In his victory speech Tuesday night, Mamdani said he intends to do just that.
“There are millions of New Yorkers who have strong feelings about what happens overseas. Yes, I am one of them,” Mamdani said. “And while I will not abandon my beliefs or my commitments, grounded in a demand for equality, for humanity, you have my word to reach further, to understand the perspectives of those with whom I disagree, and to wrestle deeply with those disagreements.”
